


A Summer in Silver Creek

by Syrinide



Category: Voltron - Fandom, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Camping, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Summer Camp, Underage Drinking, Voltron, klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-09-25 18:47:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 47,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9838760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syrinide/pseuds/Syrinide
Summary: Keith, an antisocial 19 year old gets sent to a summer camp in order to make some friends. His father insisted, but he was totally opposed to it. Fortunately for him, he ends up meeting a certain someone who's worth making memories with.Slow burn, rated explicit for future smut





	1. California Bound

**Author's Note:**

> Omg okay, so I'm going to be working on this for a long time. I'm hoping to build up a slow burn relationship between Keith and Lance, two summer camp goers who meet at a camp in California~
> 
> I'll have all the other Voltron characters in this as well, even some hinted Shallura, but the main focus is going to be some cute, (maybe steamy at times) Klance ;3
> 
> Thanks for taking the time to read this! Please enjoy !

"Are you ready to go, Keith?" 

Keith sighed under his breath, not daring to make eye contact with his father as he trudged down the stairs, not bothering to pick up his suitcase and letting it bounce along each step. He wanted to make SURE that his dad knew just how pissed off he was about this before he left. It was still so early, which helped add to the teenagers grumpiness.

"Cmon, Keith." His father crossed his arms over his chest, his voice tinged with exhaustion from fighting with his son. "Go for me? You really need this." 

"Need what?" Keith dropped his packed suitcase next to the front door, still avoiding his fathers gaze as he tucked his dark hair behind his ear. "To be surrounded by people I don't know or care about?" 

"No, son. You need to get yourself out there... Make friends. I think this would be an amazing opportunity for you." A large hand was rested on Keith's shoulder, and it was given a squeeze.

"Dad... Please. I don't need friends right now. I'll be going to college soon... I just have to figure out what I want to do with my life. Summer Camp is a complete waste of time right now, Not to mention kind of stupid..." He trailed off, his eyes training on the ground so he didn't need to look at his father. What kind of people would be at a summer camp at this age and time? Weren't summer camps for middle school kids who had no lives?

"Nah, I really looked into this one. It's for people ranging from 17 to 20 who go to this camp. Did you even look at this when I sent it to you?" His father said while tapping at his phone for a moment, before handing it to his frustrated Son. Keith took it, and looked at the website. The page was bland, reading Silver Creek Summer Camp at the top in a bold font. It was poorly done, and some of it was even written in comic sans. There was only a few photos on the site, some shots of the cabins, some trees, and a sandy lake. It seemed nice, but Keith wasn't really one for outdoorsy things anyway. 

"You're just so lonely all the time... And it's not like you'd hang out with me anymore." His father smiled, yet his dark brown eyes showed signs of hurt. Keith knew he was keeping to himself a bit more than he should lately; He just wasn't in the mood to spend time with anyone, even his own father. As a kid, he wasn't away from his dad's side for a second. Depression mixed with his introverted personality was a hell of a thing.

With a gentle, defeated sigh, Keith looked up at his dad. He faked a small smile, and just nodded a few times and gripped the handle to his heavy suitcase. He handed his fathers phone back to him. 

"Alright, Alright. It's not like I have a choice or anything. If I did, I really wouldn't want to go to this." 

"I know, Bud. Thank you for doing this." His dad seemed genuinely happy about him caving. He really did want what was best for Keith, and he was tired of seeing the boy so alone constantly. He never really made friends he could keep during high school, none of them were all that special to Keith, and he usually ended up isolated himself anyways.

"Now let's hit the road or you'll be missing your flight!" Keith was given a slap on the back before opening up the front door and heading out into the warm morning air. At least it was starting off as a beautiful day in Florida.He hope'd it'd be the same in California.

On the drive to the airport, his father was quite talkative. He knew why, though. He indulged in conversation himself though, knowing it'd be two months until they talked face to face again. Although his dad was very clear that Keith could leave if he really did hate it, that was a long time. He was almost sure he'd be leaving early, because he was sure he wasn't going to like it. He was too introverted to be constantly around people for an entire two months. Although he did want to humor his father, and stay for as long as his mental health would let him.

It seemed as if it were only a minute before they were there, at the airport gate. He stuck close to his father the entire time, and silence never seemed to fall over the two. Keith knew he was going to miss him, even if he didn't want to admit it to his father or even himself. He gripped the handle to his suitcase as he turned to look at the man that raised him. He wasn't going to be gone forever, but he's never been away from his only family for this long. It was definitely going to feel... strange. Over the years, he's only ever seen his father as his true friend. Someone who was always there for him. Someone who loves him unconditionally and cares for him with all of his being. 

"Dad..." He trailed off, letting go of his suitcase as he dad opened his arms for a hug. Keith wrapped his arms around his dads broad torso, and squeezed him hard. He hasn't even hugged his dad like this in a long time, and it felt nice. It seemed like forever, when his father finally let go after a pat on the back and met his gaze with a smile. He was never one to cry, but he saw tears in his old man's eyes. His dad hasn't cried since the passing of his mother, so it tugged hard at Keith's heart to see him holding back tears like this.

"It wont be long. And I'll call you lots..." He said softly, his eyes beginning to burn with tears himself. His father nodded, and Keith grabbed his suitcase again, finally turning his back on his dad as soon as he heard the announcement that they were boarding. Quickly, he placed his suitcase on the baggage carousel and glanced back only once after the lady took his ticket, smiling tearfully at his dad who was wiping away his own tears. His heart strings were pulled hard when he saw his dad mouth the words "I love you." He nodded, pressing his lips hard together and turning around again to follow the rest of the passengers onto the plane.

He's only been on a plane once in his life, but he was too young to really remember it. He didn't remember how uncomfortable the seats were, and how many babies were crying, and how many goddamn times the kid behind him would kick his seat. He also failed to remember how nervous it made him. He thought the window seat would be a cool idea, he'd get to see the clouds and the sky. But honestly, he found himself gripping the armrests hard as they took off, and he couldn't calm down until they were steadily in the air for about ten minutes. With a shaky sigh, he was finally able to stop his death grip on his chair, and take out his sketch book and a pencil. He glanced over at the lady beside him for a moment, before leaning against the wall a bit and opening his book to a blank page.

He didn't have anything in mind when he sketched really, it was just very therapeutic. The pencil would glide effortlessly along the page with a usually steady hand, but for now, his lines were rather wobbly. He never considered himself to be an artist or anything, he just loved to sketch and paint. He knew he couldn't make a living out of it or anything, it just helped to ease his mind whenever he would run into anxiety or stress. When he was young, his mother taught him how to paint, and ever since he's clung to it as a hobby. He still cherished the paintings his mother did, and they hung in his room till this day.

He found himself drawing random things; human figures, animals, flowers, scenery, landscapes. Finally, his eyes were growing heavy after the sleepless night that was last night. The fighting to go the the camp, the packing, and the stress kept him up until 4 am. And now it was 6 am. He had about 4 more hours on the plane, so a power nap would do him good and pass the time. He leaned back a little in his chair, not much though, because he didn't want to be as disrespectful as the person in front of him (who has his chair tilt so far back it was almost on Keith's lap). It took him a while, but finally his exhaustion overcame him and he succumbed to a rather light sleep.

He awoke to the pilot's voice overhead, and the lady next to him nudging him and telling him to put on his seat belt. He wiped away some drool with his hoodie sleeve and sat up, reaching over to grab the seat belt and fastening it. He watched nervously out the small window as the runway was approaching rather quickly, and again he found himself gripping onto his arm rests. The landing was smooth and fine, and he over hyped himself yet again. He really needed to deal with this unnecessary anxiety...

The airport was busy. Busier than the one in Florida. After getting a hold of his suitcase again, he set off to grab some much needed food and a coffee. He found a small food court, ordered a sandwich and a latte, and sat down at a table in the corner to relax for a while. His stomach was bothering him a little from the nap on the plane, but he managed to slowly get one sandwich half down and finished his coffee. He knew there was going to be a bus arriving at the airport soon for the camp, so he got his stuff together and got up.

As he was making his way to the exit, he noticed a large group of people standing near the corner of the entrance area. He scanned it for a moment, before he saw a rather tall, muscular man holding up a sign that read Silver Creek Campers. This was cheesier than he thought, and he wasn't even there yet. With a bit of an internal groan, he wheeled his suitcase over the the group, and nervously approached the man. He was rather... nice to look at. His hair was short, but his bangs were dyed white and he had a bit of a scar across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. He smiled sweetly, despite his almost intimidating look as Keith approached.

"You here for the summer camp?" He asked rather happily through that perfect smile. Keith found himself just nodding slowly at first, before speaking.

"Oh, uh. Yeah. Is this where we wait?" He asked softly, glancing around at the others.

"Yep! Just hang here with us. The buses will be here in..." He trailed off as he pulled his phone out of his back pocket and turned on the screen. "A few minutes actually! You're just in time." He gave Keith that kind smile again, before putting his phone away.

"Hopefully you're the last one. Actually hang on for one sec." He stepped over to a woman. She had long, silver hair and dark skin. These must be the counselors, Keith thought. They looked like they should be models or something.

"Alrighty, let's see." The man came back with a clipboard. "What's your name?"

Keith stuttered for a moment. Why was it so hard to talk to people? 'I guess that's what I get for staying in my room for two years after high school.' Isolation wasn't really helping his social anxiety.

"Keith. Uh... Kogane." He stuttered out, his eyes trained on the ground again. Maybe this trip could help him gain more confidence in himself. Who knows. He watched as the counselor flipped through the clipboard, scanning it for a while. 

"Ah! Okay, there you are. You seem to be the last one." He said as he pulled open a pen and scribbled a check next to his name. "Just wait here with us, then. Also you're new, aren't you? I'm Shiro." he held out a hand to Keith, and Keith took it and gave it an awkward shake.

"I'm Keith..." the words escaped his lips in an exhale, and he turned a bit red as he realized Shiro already knew that. The taller male just laughed softly, before saying "I know." 

"Ah, sorry. I haven't really done anything like this before. I don't know what to expect." He nervously tucked his hair behind his ear.

"That's fine! There's nothing to be anxious about. Have you ever been camping with your family? It's basically like that, but with tons of people." Shiro sounded reassuring and kind. It made Keith soften up a little.

"Ah, okay. That's cool, I guess."

"I'm the counselor by the way, you probably already guessed that. Allura, over there," he pointed to the silver haired young woman that he received the checklist from earlier. "Is another counselor. And then there's Coran over there." He pointed over to an orange haired man. "Were pretty chill though, were just here to run the thing, not control anyone or anything. This is a camp for young adults so were just here to keep people in line."

Keith nodded, listening to him intently. He jumped a bit as another camper came up from behind Shiro and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, Shiro!" He said through a rather cocky smile, before turning his gaze to Keith. His grin died down a bit, but remained a small smirk. Keith found himself staring. Oh shit, this boy was hot. He was tall, tan, and...

"Hey there, Lance." Shiro responded. So his name is Lance...

"Allura is looking gorgeous today, isn't she?"

straight. It's not like he was expecting anything else, most guys are.

"Alright, cool it lover boy. We're not doing this again this year." Shiro laughed and ruffled his short brown hair, yet he sounded pretty serious about the matter. This Lance guy must have been quite the flirt. Gross... at least it was a boys camp. No girls for him to be throwing himself at, sparing Keith of having to witness the sickening display.

"I know, I know. She's just so irresistible-" He laughed, before Shiro shot him a glance. He laughed again, and stepped back off into the crowd without a word to Keith. He felt a bit disappointed he didn't get to talk with Lance for some reason. He didn't even seem like the type of person Keith could get along with well. He shrugged it off as the fact that he thought that that Lance guy was attractive. As he looked back up to Shiro, he was looking out the window at the large buses that were pulling up outside, one by one.

"Ah, great. Nice meeting you, Keith! I'll be seeing you at Silver Creek!" He dismissed himself and stepped off to the front of the crowd. 

"Everyone! The buses have just pulled up as you can see!" Coran, the ginger haired counselor was already speaking up, followed by an excited cheer by the overly ecstatic campers. Keith just silently watched from the edge of the crowd. He truly felt alone. He glanced around at everyone who seemed to have someone. Everyone already had friends to be with, Keith seemed to be the only one who was alone. Well, he was new to this camping thing... he should be able to make friends once they get there, right? Or was he just that unapproachable? He did remember his high school 'friends' telling him he looked emo and dull and that he was boring. Just thinking about that made him feel worse and more self conscious. 

He followed the crowd slowly, lagging behind a little as he nervously held the suitcase handle a bit tighter in his grip. He watched and waited as everyone began piling onto the buses, and eventually made his way onto one after placing his luggage with everyone else's in the back. He awkwardly sat down next to someone, sitting on the edge of the seat just to avoid being near someone else. His anxiety was too high right now, and he honestly wanted to go home to his nice quiet room already.

The bus ride thankfully was only about a half hour long, and he passed the time by playing games on his phone, and avoiding conversation with people around him. He knew he needed to try harder... but he wasn't really ready yet. He hated bus rides and being this close to tons of people in an enclosed space. He'd wait until they were actually there to try... Maybe he'd find a friend or two. Although after his experience with people in high school, he didn't really believe in friends. It was hard to trust people, and all friends did was suck the energy out of him. But he promised his dad he'd try, so he was at least going to attempt to make friends.

Finally, after a half hour of weird and cheesy camping songs, the bus came to a stop. Everyone was so anxious people were starting to get up out of their seats before it even pulled up. Keith stood too, and everyone started piling off of the bus.

The air was unbearable, humid and warm, and the sun was bright and shining through the tall, dense trees surrounding the large site. It was honestly really nice. It was secluded, and as he glanced down at the map that was given to him as he stepped of the bus, he could see that it was massive. The buses dropped them off at the main campground, where most of the cabins were. The area was an open field, with medium sized cabins lined up along the dense tree line at the edges. On the map, there was a washroom area that had showers and washing machines. There was a rec center for movies and games, and a kitchen next to it. He also noted that there was a lake, the one he saw in the pictures on the website. It seemed like there was a good amount of things to do here, and it made Keith a little excited. 

"Alright, campers! We're finally back!" Keith perked up a bit and glanced over to the crowd that had gotten off the buses. The female counselor, Allura was speaking up excitedly, followed by a cheer. He slipped the map into his pocket after folding it up, and stepped up to the back of the bus to grab his luggage, listening to her speak.

"This year we have tons of things planned! lots of games and activities. We'll be handing out schedules tomorrow morning, so for the rest of today everyone can get settled into the cabins. You all know the drill! Shiro here will be assigning all of you to your cabins, so everyone listen!" She looked over at the muscular counselor who was looking down at a clipboard. He smiled at everyone, before speaking up.

"Everyone line up here, I'll let you know what cabin's yours and I'll mark it on your map." He announced, and quickly people were forming into a line. Keith has been pretty passive with the lines and the crowds up to this point, but he found himself trying to get in line quickly, so he could get out of the heat and set up in his cabin quickly. He wanted to relax and draw, already. As he waited, he could hear Shiro at the front of the line, naming off cabins. As he inched closer, he could hear that each cabin was named after an animal. Moose, Deer, Duck, Gecko, Crow... How much cheesier could it get?

"Ah, Keith!" Shiro's face lit up as Keith approached him. Keith managed a smile and greeted him as he took out his map and unfolded it. "Nice to see you again! Let's see, you're in..." he flipped through the pages for a few moments, before speaking up again.

"Possum!" 'Possum? don't they eat trash?' he thought. How charming.

"And that's right overrrr... Here." He marked Keith's map with a red pen, circling the cabin. It was one of the few cabins that were more secluded and next to the lake.

"Yeah, thanks." Keith murmured, turning around and heading off in the direction of his new home for the next two months. It was a bit of a walk, off the edge of the main area there was a narrow wooded path that stretched on for a while. Yeah, this was going to be great to walk through at night, he thought. Finally, he found the cabin. He honestly liked that it was secluded from the main area, and the sound of the lakes gentle waves added to the serenity of the area. He rolled his suitcase up the ramp of the small front porch to the door. There was a cute little swing on the porch, gently rocking back and forth from the gentle breeze.

As he opened up the front door, it let out a squeak, announcing his presence. He found two pairs of eyes on him right away, and he forced a smile to the two bunk mates before stepping over to claim the bed that was in the farthest back corner.

"Hey! Are you new?" He heard one of them say as he placed his suitcase on the rather hard bed. He turned around to face them. 

"I'm Hunk. It's nice to meet you." The bigger one said. He had such a sweet face, Keith felt comfortable just being in this guy's presence. Almost like he'd enjoy spending time with this guy, even if he himself was an introverted jerk. 

"And this is Pidge." He motioned over to the rather small guy, sitting cross-legged on his bed. He had his laptop on his legs, and he only looked up for a moment to smile a bit and utter out a quick hi.

"H-Hey. I'm, uh... I'm Keith. And yeah, I'm new. Never really been much for camping." He said. Hunk moved in closer to him as Keith sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Aw, really? You've never experienced this kind of camping, then." Hunk laughed a bit, running a hand through his dark brown hair. "Pidge, Lance and I really look forward to this every year. It's literally, like, the most fun thing." He enthused.

Lance? Lance was the name of that boy he found himself crushing on at the airport.

"Ah... I hope so. Er, is this Lance guy also in this Cabin?" Keith asked idly, tucking black strands behind his ear.

"Yeah! We're always bunk mates. Shiro always puts us together, we asked him real nice one time. I hope you'll enjoy it, we have such a blast together." He stepped back over to his bed and flopped onto his back with his arms behind his head. "He should be here soon, he's probably hanging around Allura or something."

"Right..." Keith acknowledged. He hadn't spoken much to Pidge yet, but he could tell his bunk mates were very tolerable and kind so far. Maybe this wasn't going to be such a drag after all. He slipped his suitcase a bit under his bed after grabbing his sketchbook, and leaned back against the bed post.

The squeak of the door broke the short silence that took over the cabin, and Keith looked up to meet the gaze of Lance. Again, he couldn't take his eyes off that boy. He chewed on his lower lip as he watched the other walk in, wheeling his bag over to the bed just next to Keiths. He tossed his luggage onto the bed, greeting the others enthusiastically.

"Hey guys! Looks like we're in the cursed cabin this time." He said in an eerie tone, that cute smirk still on his face. Hunk sat up, grimacing.

"Don't remind me! I'm trying to forget about that..." 

"Psh. I don't believe in all that, it's just a story." Pidge shut his laptop. "Besides, if this cabin were cursed, someone would have died or gone missing last time, or the time before."

"Ehh, not necessarily." Lance piped up again, plopping down onto his bed and crossing his legs. "What if the ghosts are trying to just slowly haunt the place, making the victims aware of their presence overtime. Then after a few years of spooks, they turn deadly and claim the souls of the campers that sleep here?" 

"Lance! Come on! Last time you freaked me out so bad I couldn't sleep for like three nights." Hunk whined, gaining a cocky laugh from Lance.

"Yeah, yeah. You can spend time getting worked up over ghost stories then." Pidge shook his head with a bit of an amused smile. "I'll spend my time relaxing and having fun."

"Well what do you think, newbie?" Lance looked over at Keith, meeting eye contact. Keith hadn't realized until now he was hardcore staring at Lance. He was really hoping he didn't take notice to that.

"Oh..." He quickly looked away. "Uh... Yeah I dunno if I believe in ghosts or anything." he mumbled softly. Lance frowned and got up, stepping over to where Keith sat on his bed.

"No? really? Man, you guys suck! The non believers are always the ones to die in scary movies. Don't come crying to me if a demon comes after you, then. Hunk and I will be ready."

"... Right." Keith honestly wanted to joke around with Lance too, but he didn't know how. He never knew how. That's why all of his previous friends abandoned him, and made sure to tell him how much of a drag he was.

"Hmm..." Lance sat right next to him on the small bed, and Keith tensed as their hips touched. "What are you drawing?"

"Oh! oh.. this? I uh..." Keith felt his face burning up a bit, and he tucked his knees up a little, as if trying to make himself smaller. "I just kinda sketch... it's nothing." He closed the book, not looking at the other as he took an elastic off of his wrist and put it in his mouth for a moment, collecting his hair into a small ponytail and tying it up.

He could feel Lances eyes on him. He was honestly trying not to lose it. He's never gotten so much attention from someone before.

"Oh come on. Can't I see? My younger sister draws, so I'm totally interested in that stuff." He insisted, giving Keith a nudge. Keith only shook his head.

"It's just kind of private, okay?" 

"Really? Do you draw naked girls or something?"

"What? No. I mean... sometimes. It's not porn or anything... I'ts just human form-"

"Now I really want to see!"

"No, seriously..." Keith just slid his sketchbook under his pillow, before crossing his arms, still avoiding eye contact with Lance. "No."

Lance scowled a bit, before getting up off Keith's bed. "Kay, fine... Jeez." He finally backed off, but Keith felt the familiar feeling of regret rising up in his chest. This is how he chased away everyone else in the past, he needs to drop the edgy, rude attitude, and fast if he didn't want to spend this whole trip alone.

He wanted to cave, and show Lance his sketches. Explain each one to him, talk to him more... He wanted more attention from this boy.

"Mullet head over here is kind of a buzz kill, huh?" He joked on his way to the door. "Pidge, Hunk, let's go get something to eat. You're welcome to come if you want... er, what's your name?"

"Keith..." He answered almost too quickly.

"Keith. Okay, so you wanna come or..?" He asked, standing at the doorway as the other two joined him.

"I actually have a sandwich, I'm okay." He said softly.

"Alrighty, suit yourself. See you later, Mullet! Oh, by the way, the names Lance." He gave that signature smirk to Keith on his way out.

Keith was left there on his bed after they left, staring at the door, his heart beating faster than it should have been. Oh no. He can't be gaining a crush on someone he JUST met. This can't be happening. He immediately pushed it to the back of his mind with a groan as he lay down. 

There will be absolutely no gay crushes at summer camp, with a cocky straight boy like him. It's happened before, and he promised himself it would never happen again. Ever.


	2. Getting Familiar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter two! I'm working my butt off to get these out at a decent time~ I'm trying to get them out quickly but also trying to put tons of thought and effort into each chapter!
> 
> It's gonna start gettin hella ghey.
> 
> Extra note; Pidge is a FTM trans boy in this fic. That's why I'm using male pronouns when referring to them. ^^
> 
> Anyways, Enjoy!

The sun was beginning to set, casting a warm glow across the water. Keith found himself sitting next to the lake in the sand, leaning against the base of a tree, his sketchbook in hand. He had his hair tied up, black leggings, and an over sized hoodie on even though the humidity was baking him alive. He was slowly sketching away the scene before him. The ambiance was relaxing, the sound of singing birds in the trees, the lapping of gentle lake waves along the shore, and the scribbling of his pencil on the paper. It was picturesque, and it was all perfect... Until someone grabbed his shoulder roughly, with a loud, jarring "BOO!"

  
Keith let out a high pitched yelp, jolting up and dropping his sketchbook. He whirled around once he was on his feet to see a laughing Lance. He was leaned into the tree, in hysterics at Keith's reaction. He found himself growling and giving Lance a shove.

  
"Are you serious!?" Keith hissed, picking up his book from off the ground and dusting the sand from it. As attractive as Lance was to Keith, his personality was honestly pretty unbearable and borderline childish at times. So much for the moment of peace and quiet.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I had to. You just looked so scare-able sitting there all by yourself!" Lance wiped a tear from his eye, stepping up to Keith and giving him a playful, yet surprisingly gentle whap on the arm.

"Yeah? Well it wasn't funny." Keith clutched his book to his chest, visibly shaken but trying his best to hide it.

"Hell yeah it was! The way you screamed like a girl was priceless." He joked, that smirk Lance wore often currently plastered on that tan, handsome face.

"You're seriously a jerk, Lance." Keith found himself walking away towards his cabin, not faltering as Lance came after him.

"Hey, come on! You really need to lighten up, buddy!" He followed Keith into the cabin, the squeaky door shutting behind them both. "If we're gonna be bunk mates I want us to all get along. I'm just playing with you." He almost whined, seeming disappointed in Keith's anger towards him.

"I hate being scared..." he muttered, climbing onto his bed and leaning against the bedpost, his sketchbook still clutched to his chest. "It's so cheap and dumb..."

"Someone's sour..." Lance just crossed his arms, watching from the doorway. "What can I do to make you less emo and edgy?"

"Emo? Edgy...? I'm not..! I just hate when people pull shitty tricks on me like that. Like seriously, how old are you?"

"No, that's what I'm talking about! You're so hung up on it, I wont do it again okay? Jeez..." The taller of the two just sighed and scratched his head.

Keith fell silent. He was screaming at himself internally, aching to just... say something witty and clever back at Lance. Reassure him that it was okay, make him laugh like Hunk and Pidge did. He wanted to fit in so desperately it nearly brought tears to his eyes. His own internal frustrations were eating him alive. He stared at his feet for a moment, avoiding Lance's gaze, before exhaling softly and sliding his book under his pillow again.

"I'm sorry... I'm just a bit... out of my element I guess. I'm not trying to be edgy on purpose."

Lance's soft lips curved into a bit of an interested smile. "But you admit you are kinda edgy. Like in a bad way."

"Shut up! I'm seriously trying here, I didn't even want to come to this camp in the first place."

"But you're here... Soooo." Lance stepped over to his own bed now, plopping himself down onto it, facing Keith. "Why not have some fun? You can feel free to chill with us, you know."

"Yeah, I... Thanks." Keith trailed off, finally bringing himself to get over his anxieties and looked Lance in the eye. "Just not used to being surrounded by people all the time. Guess I have to kind of... Ease into it or something."

"Yeah, I get it, man." Lance gave Keith a pretty kind smile, the look in his eyes showing warmth and understanding for a split second, before Hunk and Pidge abruptly came in. God, that door could wake a sleeping bear...

"Hey guys! Pidge and I are going for a quick swim before bed. You guys wanna join?" Hunk asked rather happily.

"Holy shit, yeah! I could really go for a dip right now. I'm all hot and sticky." Lance sprung up from his bed and started unzipping his suitcase.

"Cool! We'll meet you out there!" Hunk ran out after Pidge who grabbed some towels and left.

"You comin', Keith?" Keith looked up to see Lance's pretty blue eyes trained on him. It almost took him by surprise, and he could feel his heart skip a beat.

"Oh, uh. I'll come out and draw or something. Not really one for swimming..."

"You're not really one for anything, are you?" Lance scoffed a bit, undoing the fly to his jeans. Keith immediately looked away as Lance slid down his pants. He clearly didn't mind undressing in front of others.

"... I never really learned how to swim." He said softly, feeling a twinge of embarrassment in his chest. Lance gasped a little as he was pulling on his swim trunks. Keith remained with his gaze averted.

"You don't know how to swim? Dios mio Keith! Why don't you come at least stand in the shallow part and get comfortable with it?"

"I didn't bring a bathing suit, seriously... it's cool. I'll come out but I'll sit on the sand."

"No way. I'll chill with you in the shallow end if you come in. Here." Lance rummaged in his suitcase for a second, before throwing some red trunks at Keith. It hit him in the face, but he pulled them off and held them on his lap.

"... Fine. But I'm not going in past my waist. I can't..." His voice was almost solemn as he spoke the last part. Lance frowned a bit, before throwing a towel across his shoulders.

"Fair enough. I'll meet you out there, okay? Hurry up! The suns pretty much gone." Lance spoke over his shoulder at Keith as he stepped out, leaving him in silence. He could hear the others faintly, laughing and splashing around. It sounded like a lot of fun, and Keith wanted in on it painfully badly...

He got up, and slid down his black tights. He was going to try his best to include himself this time. As much as he convinced himself that he was completely and totally fine without any friends, he knew he was wrong. He was constantly craving attention, laughter, fun... He felt like he really missed out on his teenage years. He was almost 20 years old at this point, and he still hasn't done anything fun with people his age. He slipped up the red shorts, and they fit perfectly. Lance did have a quite similar body shape to him, he was just a bit lankier than he was. And toned... and so tan...

_Fuck._

He grasped the towel he'd noticed that Lance left for him, and cautiously headed out, still in his baggy grey hoodie. He stepped out barefoot onto the front porch of the cabin, the loud creak of the door sounding his presence. It was nearly dark now, and he could see that Pidge was on a floatie, and Lance was on Hunks shoulders. It brought a bit of a smile to his face as he listened to Hunk and Pidge counting down, before Hunk jumped up and launched Lance into the air. He laughed to himself at Lance's little yelp while in mid air, before he splashed into the water.

"Keith, come on! the water's so warm!" Hunk waved him over with that sweet grin of his. Lance resurfaced with a dramatic "Wooo!" And pushed his slick hair back out of his face.

"Yeah, coming..!" Keith trotted over along the sandy shoreline to the waters edge. He let the shallow water run over his bare toes. It was so warm, it felt inviting and nice. He looked up at the others, to see Lance wading over to him.

"You sure your comfortable with coming in?" He asked, sounding slightly out of breath as he was now standing next to Keith. The shorter male nodded, gripping the bottom of his hoodie a little. He wasn't very comfortable with the idea of lakes or swimming after what happened to his mother, but he knew he needed to push himself. He wanted these friends so badly... he wanted to fit in. He wanted to just have fun for once...

"Yeah I'm okay." His voice was evidently shaky as he spoke softly.

"Great! You look cute by the way."

"What?" The comment caught him by surprise, and he stared at Lance, scanning his expression for any hints of sarcasm since he couldn't detect it in his tone.

"Yeah, your hairs in a ponytail and you're in a hoodie and shorts. That's like super cute."

"..." Keith was a little dumbfounded. His face was growing hot by the second and he found himself stumbling on his words. "Th-Thanks... Do you go around calling strangers cute like this..?" He asked, a nervous smile on his face as he met the others gaze.

"Only cute ones."

Keith was going to explode at this rate. He's never been flirted with before. was this even flirting? How was he supposed to tell. Wasn't Lance straight? What was going on?

"Take off your hoodie already and come in before it gets too dark, man!" Lance nudges him out of his stunned daze, leaving a bit of a wet spot on his hoodie.

"Yeah, yeah okay..." He obliged and pulled his hoodie up over his head, revealing his pale chest. He tossed it to the sand along with his towel, and turned back to face Lance.

"Keith, are you scared of water?" Pidge called out from his little floatie, looking away from his phone for a moment. How Pidge felt brave enough to bring his phone into the lake with him Keith would never know.

"Not really scared just... Didn't ever take the time to learn how to swim." He responded a little dryly, trying his best to breathe as he took slow, shallow steps deeper into the lake. Thankfully it wasn't the type of lake that had rocks that would slice up the bottom of your feet, it was lined with soft, squishy sand. He let his toes sink into the sand a little once he was up to his knees. Lance stood by his side the whole time.

"If it makes you feel better, Lance went through tons of life guard training last year." Pidge spoke up again, this time tapping away at his phone.

"Oh, hell yeah. I'm the best life guard there is, you're in good hands, mullet. I'm a local hero."

"Yeah, yeah. Stop calling me mullet."

"Mm'kay, Mullet."

"Seriously-" keith suddenly sucked in a loud gasp, followed by a small scream, before clumsily stepping back into the shallower side.

"What?!" Lance's eyes were wide as he stared at Keith. All three pairs of eyes were now on him as he was catching his breath.

"Something touched me...!"

"...Pfffffft!" all three of them started laughing. Lance harder than the rest.

"That was me, my bad! I seriously can't resist scaring you. Plus honestly I didn't think it'd freak you out that badly."

"What?!"

"Yeah, I poked your ankle with my foot."

"Fuck you, Lance. Seriously...! I'm trying to get comfortable!" Keith clenched his fists at his sides, before stomping back out to Lance and shoving him roughly. Lance just laughed and let himself fall back into the water with a splash. Even though it was annoying as hell, Keith found himself laughing too.

"Don't do it again, you jerk. I'm serious, I'll drown you." Keith threatened playfully As Lance resurfaced. For the first time, his words just came out naturally. He didn't feel awkward or pressured about anything, he felt like he was starting to get comfortable with these three. He felt like he was having fun.

The four of them laughed and joked for what seemed like hours. By now it was nearly pitch black out, the only thing illuminating the black of the night was the light on the cabin porch. Keith would have normally felt totally out of his element, being in a lake in the dark in the woods, but he felt so comfortable. He only went up to his waist, and Lance stayed comfortably close to him the whole time (Unless him and Hunk were play wrestling).  
His past friends used to make fun of him, or call him things like 'pussy' when Keith was uncomfortable in a situation. But these guys didn't, they respected his insecurities and supported him. He felt so safe with them here around him, especially Lance. Sometimes Lance would put a gently hand on Keith's arm when he'd notice him getting a little tense in the water. It was like magic... This boy's smile was calming, and his touch was so soft and reassuring.

Keith was truly starting to feel like he was breaking out of his shell already on the first night. Was this even possible? He didn't know. All he knew was that he was having fun with them, even if he wasn't contributing much to the conversation, he loved listening to them talk. They were truly including him too, and not just leaving him to feel alone and left out.

  
Finally, Hunk suggested retiring.

"Ahhh yeah, I'm all pruny. Look at my freaking hands, Keith." Lance said as they stepped out onto the shore, showing his open palms to Keith.

"Yeah I see that. You look like an old man." Keith chuckled, wrapping his towel around himself.

The four of them went back into the Cabin to dry off and change. Lance was comfortable with stripping in front of everyone, but the other three felt a bit weird about it, so everyone agreed to turn around and change in their own corners. Once they were all in thier pj's (which was no shirt and baggy sweatpants for Lance), they all sat on their beds and talked for a while longer until it was about 1 am. Again, Keith didn't contribute much, but he felt included and was happy enough to laugh along with them and listen to their stories of past years here.

Finally they turned off the lights and all lay down under their covers. Keith shifted a little in his bed for a while, before he heard Lance mumble "You'll get used to the bed." I guess he'd have to, it was as hard as a rock. At least the blankets were warm and cozy.

His phone screen lit up and vibrated suddenly, and he remembered his dad. Quickly, he grabbed it and unlocked it, opening it up to a text that read;

  
**Hey Keith. U enjoying yourself or do u hate it?**

  
He smiled a little, before tapping in a reply.

  
**I had fun today. We'll see tho. Goodnight, Dad. I'll talk to you tomorrow.**

  
**Ok. love u.**

  
He turned off his screen and set his phone down next to his pillow, before turning over to face Lances bed. He stared at the back of Lance's dark brown hair for a while, before feeling his eyes growing heavy. The crickets chirping and the gentle night breeze blowing through the trees outside were enough to lull him to sleep, and Lance's and Hunk's snoring didn't even seem to phase him. Everything felt okay, so far to his surprise. He hoped it stayed this way, he wanted more of this feeling.

He wanted them to accept him. Especially Lance.


	3. Really, Lance?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys are liking this so far! Thanks for all the Kudos and bookmarks, it really makes my day to see them, and motivating me to write more! ღ
> 
> Anyways, here's chapter three.

"Beep Beep Beep!"

  
Keith groaned as the shrill beeping of the old alarm clock tore him from his peaceful slumber. Half asleep and cranky, he grabbed his pillow harshly and covered his head with it, letting out a long and muffled groan. He could hear the others getting up out of their beds, yawning and stretching. No way was he getting out of bed this early, the sun was barely up yet.

"Mornin' guys! Rise and shine!" Lance said through a yawn, rather obnoxiously. How was he such an early bird? For gods sake, Keith could hardly drag his ass out of bed before 12.

"Hunk, Keith! Come on, get up. Gotta go get showers while they're still empty!" Lance threw a towel at Keith, who just let out another muffled groan from under his pillow. Hunk finally stopped his loud snoring and sat up, rubbing at his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm up I'm up." Hunk slurred tiredly as he got up to grab his shower supplies. Pidge was already at the door, his shower bag slung over his shoulder.

"Lance, you're gonna have to get Keith up or he's gonna miss out on showering." Pidge looked at Lance, who was already on it. Lance was now shaking Keith, earning more pissed off groans.

"Keith! Up! Seriously. You gotta come wash your greasy mullet." By now he was pulling away Keith's pillow. Boy, was Keith ever angry. Finally, Lance managed to pry the pillow away from him, and starting hitting him with it. He had no idea they'd be having to get up this early every morning. In his grumpy, tired state he sat up and grabbed his pillow as Lance swung it down at him again. He yanked it away from him, and got up with a growl.

"Yikes, Keith. You're a monster in bed." Lance said through a smirk.

"Shut up... I'm exhausted." He unzipped his suitcase to grab his bag of toiletries, and threw some fresh clothes in a plastic bag.

"You're gonna have to get used to it, you know. If you don't get up early you can't shower till after noon. They fill up fast." Lance met the other two over by the door with his bag.

"We like to get it over with early so we don't have to worry about it later. Plus all you can eat breakfast is at 6 am sharp!" Hunk added.

Keith threw his toiletries bag in the plastic bag with his clothes and sighed softly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he met up with the others. They set off into the warm morning air, and headed on down the little trail towards the washroom facility. Lance, Hunk and Pidge seemed too lively for 5:30 in the morning. The light was dim and warm as the sun was slowly rising over the horizon behind the dense treeline.

"Thankfully the washroom closest to our Cabin is usually the one no one ever goes to." Pidge said to Keith, who was still almost half asleep.

"Why do we need to rush like this then?" He yawned.

"We're not rushing! It's honestly so much better to get up early. You don't want to miss out on breakfast. Shiro's really great at making pancakes, and he always makes them on the first morning." Hunk smiled as they approached the washrooms.

"I don't really know about you guys, but I'm never that hungry in the mornings." Keith mumbled tiredly, as they all stepped into the bathrooms.

"I am! I'm always hungry for Shiro's cooking." Lance's voice echoed in the vacant washrooms. They were honestly kind of disgusting, and he cringed a bit as he saw a rather large spider scurry across the floor and under the sinks. The small windows along the top of the wall were all cracked in at least one spot, and were riddled with cobwebs.

"...This is pretty gross." Keith admitted as everyone else seemed unfazed and headed off to a shower stall.

"Again, you'll get used to it buddy. Just wear your flip flops!" Lance said before closing the stall.

...Keith forgot his back at the cabin. With a long sigh, he headed off to the empty shower stall and opened up the door. Thankfully it wasn't overly repulsive, just a little sand was built up on the drain and there were some webs near the shower head. Hopefully there weren't any spiders lurking around in here. He could handle them, he just... preferred not to. Keith crept in slowly and shut the door, putting down his things and hanging the towel over the door. He slipped out of Pajamas, hung them up, closed the curtain, and turned on the shower. The water was freezing cold at first, and it gave him chills. He sucked in a sharp breath, and thankfully it grew warm quickly.

He stood under the hot water, letting his heavy eyes slip closed. It ran along his body, warming him, making him even more tired than he already was. As he ran his fingers through his medium length black hair, he let himself sink into his thoughts. Honestly, as much as he hated being forcefully woken up, seeing the others and Lance immediately made him happy again. He was still exhausted, but he enjoyed their company more than anything. He found himself focusing more on that rather than how much it sucked to be awake before the sun or how much his back ached from the bed he slept in. As he massaged in some shampoo, he found himself recalling his dream from last night. Of course, his mother was there as always.

Keith always found himself dreaming about his mother here and there, and even when she didn't play an important role in his dreams, he could feel her presence. A smile crept across his face as he remembered her, speaking to him in that soft voice she had in his dream. Keith wasn't sure how he still recalled what she sounded like so well since she passed when he was 6. He guessed something like that just always stuck with him, no matter what. He was starting to get an urge to text his father again, and made a mental note to during breakfast.

After washing out the shampoo, he shut off the tap, avoiding the cobwebs that resided along the side of it. The water was a little in his eyes, so he slid open the shower curtain reached over to the door to grab his towel. He couldn't seem to find it... He rubbed at his eyes a little before opening them to see that all of his stuff was gone. His towel, his shoes, clothes, and his bag. His face began to grow hot with frustration as he heard Lance stifle a giggle.

"You're kidding me. Lance, give me my clothes..!" Keith shouted, his angered voice echoing through the bathroom.

"Come get them, they're on the counter out here!" Lance retorted smugly. You have to be kidding me, Keith thought. He was butt naked without a towel, shivering with his arms wrapped around his wet body. He knew Lance tended to act half his age, but this? Why this.

"I'm not going out there naked! Hunk, Pidge...? Can someone please give me my clothes?"

"They left a while ago! You take so damn long in the shower. If you don't hurry up the pancakes are gonna be cold." Keith could hear Lance stifling more laughter. This was beyond stupid... was he serious? He wanted him to come walking out completely nude to get his things? It wasn't even a funny joke, it was just awkward...

"Lance, I'm not going out there in front of you like this." he growled. "Give me my clothes, I'm serious." He was dripping wet, and it was pooling on the tile around his feet.

"Hmmm... What are the magic words, Keith?

Keith let out an exaggerated huff, clenching his fists. "PLEASE... give me my goddamn clothes back."

"That was still a bit too edgy, Keith. I dunno..." he teased.

"Lance, please give me my clothes." He said through clenched teeth. It was silent for a moment, before he could hear Lance grabbing his bag and walking over to the stall.

"Here, Keith. That's all it took, was a few manners!" Lance passed him his stuff from over the top of the stall door, and Keith grabbed them harshly.

"I don't need to be taught manners, Lance..." Keith wrapped the towel around himself, still shivering lightly.

"I know, I know. I just really like messing around with you. No one else gives me a reaction like that." He could hear Lance lean his back against the stall door. Keith dried his hair with the towel, then his body, before hanging the towel up.

"...No? No one else gets mad when you steal their clothes?" Keith droned sarcastically, putting on some deodorant before slipping on a black band tee and faded jeans.

"Nah, well... Pidge might. But I wouldn't do that to him. Plus Hunk would just whine instead of get all pissy. It's just so fun to mess with you."

Keith opened up the door suddenly, and Lance fell back into him a bit before regaining his balance. "Jeez, you scared me! You changed fast..." he stuttered, regaining his composure as he turned around to face the shorter of the two.

"Yeah? Guess I kind of unintentionally got you back for yesterday. Anyways, we better hurry... Why'd you wait for me, anyway? Just so you could see my reaction or something?"

"Nah, well, yeah. But I wasn't going to just leave without you. You might get lost on your way to the Kitchen."

"I wont get lost... but thanks, Lance. Even if you did steal my clothes... Also I thought you guys said if we didn't hurry the showers would be full? I don't think anyone else even came in."

"Oh, yeah. 'Cause this is the haunted bathroom. Come on, let's go."

"...What?"

 

The walk to the Kitchen wasn't too long. Lance nearly talked Keith's ear off the whole way, but he didn't really mind. He was growing to like that expressive voice of his, at least enough to listen to him rant on and on about how good Shiro's pancakes were, and how hot it was today. When they got there, there was already a good amount of people sitting at the tables, talking and digging in. The environment was loud and full of chatter, and Keith scanned the area until he found Hunk and Pidge at a picnic table near the tree line. Hunk was waving at them with a sweet smile, and Lance gave him a wave back. Keith gave a little wave too, before Lance guided him over to the pancake table.

"How many are you gonna have, Keith?" Lance asked him, already loading up his plate. He stacked about 5 onto his plate, before drowning them in syrup. Keith wasn't really a fan of cake for breakfast, so he took two.

"I'm not too hungry yet, so I'll just have two for now." he said as he poured a small amount of syrup on the side.

"Suit yourself, crazy person. I'm gonna eat as many as I can! I can only get my hands on these a few times a year." Lance said, before running off to meet up with the others. Keith followed behind slowly after grabbing some plastic cutlery. At the picnic table, he sat down in the free seat next to pidge.

"So... Do they make breakfast every morning or something?" Keith asked, using a fork and knife to cut into the pancake.

"Yep! It's usually different every morning, Shiro and Allura really out do themselves for everyone." Hunk said after swallowing. "They're fantastic cooks."

"Does Coran cook?" Keith asked before taking a bite. Lance snorted.

"He tried to once, but most of it ended up in the trash..." Pidge laughed a little. "I actually felt pretty bad for him."

"Oh... What did he make?"

"Some weird vegetable thing, honestly it looked like worms." Pidge said with a bit of a mouthful.

"Tasted like them too, honestly." Lance retorted.

"Of course Lance knows what worms taste like." Pidge remarked, earning a laugh from Hunk and a small chuckle from Keith.

"You're the one who bet me to do it!" Lance shot back, stabbing a pancake with his plastic fork.

"Yeah for like 5 bucks! You're so gross, Lance!" Hunk was laughing hard now, and so was Pidge.

"Shut up! For the record it didn't even taste that bad. And that 5 bucks got me some well earned candy."

"It didn't taste bad? I guess that's why he was the only one who ate Coran's cooking then." Pidge smirked from behind his phone.

Keith snorted and laughed, which seemed to make Lance grow a little red in the face. He just started shoveling pancake into his mouth. He certainly was cute when he was embarrassed, Keith thought to himself as he watched him. He took small bites here and there, and although he had the least amount of pancaked he finished last. They all got up when Keith finished and put the paper plates in the trash.

"Oh, Here are the schedules." Pidge piped up, stepping over to a table with papers strewn out across it. They all followed and each grabbed one. Keith opened it up and looked it over.

"Oh my god, Hunk. There's tug of war going on tomorrow. We HAVE to do that, we always win." Lance enthused, nudging his friend. Hunk agreed happily. Tug of war? really? As he looked over everything, it all seemed to typical for a summer camp. Tug of war, various types of races, water gun wars...

"Keith, anything sound interesting to you?" Lance asked him.

"Uhhh, I wouldn't know. I've never really done any of these things. Guess I'll have to find out..?"

"That's the spirit! Doesn't seem like there's anything interesting going on today so we can just spend it at the rec center if it isn't too occupied." Lance suggested, folding up his schedules and slipping it into the back pocket of his jeans.

"Yeah, sure... But is it cool if I head out for a bit later to sketch a little?" Keith asked softly, feeling a little nervous he was going to sound boring and awful by wanting some much needed alone time. He was very introverted, so as fun as it was being around others, it really sucked the energy out of him.

"Sure, dude. Whatever you wanna do." Lance gave him a smile. He then dismissed himself, so he could go over and flirt with Allura again. Hunk and Pidge sighed and followed him, as if trying to keep the boy in line.

So it was that easy, Keith thought to himself. None of them called him boring, none of them pressured him into changing his mind. He couldn't help but to smile to himself a little, even if he was internally cringing as Lance gave Allura finger guns.

 

The rec center wasn't very busy, to Keith's surprise. There was a few campers playing some kind of old looking video game over in the corner, but there still was a free couch and entertainment system that wasn't in use at all. Pidge ran over, and flicked on the tv.

"Guys... Oh my _god_." Pidge sounded so excited, Keith hasn't seen him like this yet. "They got Mario Kart!" he exclaimed, holding up the game to them. Hunk and Lance were ecstatic. Keith sat down on the comfortable couch and leaned on the armrest, guessing they requested the game last year or something.

"Holy crap how many remotes?" Lance was frantically searching through the bin next to the Wii system. "YES! Four! We hit the jackpot, baby!"

Keith was handed a Wii remote that Lance had jammed into a little plastic steering wheel and plopped down next to him. Their hips were touching, and honestly it was enough to make Keith a little red in the face.

"I haven't played Mario Kart in like, four years." Keith admitted dryly, staring up at the TV as Pidge started up the game.

"Good, that means I'll win. I always win." Lance joked smugly, giving pidge a nugde as he sat next to him.

"Yeah right, Lance. You wish. Remember that time when we were at your place? I kicked your ass five times in a row and you got all sour." Pidge retorted back, and Hunk laughed.

"Yeah, right! You failed to mention that I totally crushed your win streak."

"And then after that, I won again. And then you wanted to do something else like a sore loser."

Lance just growled as he selected his character. He picked Luigi. Hunk selected Mario, Pidge picked Yoshi. Keith moved his cursor over to Princess Peach and picked her. It made Lance snort, of course.

"What?" Keith just gave him a bit of a stare. "Got a problem with me wanting to be a princess?"

"No, it's just. You're seriously adorable, Keith. Oh my god." He laughed.

Keith acted calm, but inside that comment really got to him. His heart was pounding against his rib cage like crazy, and he could feel his face getting hot. Why did it make him like this when Lance called him cute? It probably didn't even mean anything special... He seriously doubted Lance was actually flirting with him. He couldn't have been. He was so into girls, there was no way it was actual flirting.

"Keith? You gonna pick your car?" Lance's voice snapped him out of his frantic thoughts.

"Oh, shit. Yeah uh..." Keith wasn't sure how long he was keeping them waiting, so he just selected the first car that looked decent without even checking it's stats. They picked a stage, and got ready to race. Lance leaned forward competitively, along with Pidge. Hunk remained calm and steady, and Keith just tried his best. It was hilarious how much effort and intensity Lance was putting into this, bouncing in and out of first place with Pidge, battling for first as if his life depended on it. Keith found himself smiling to himself as he ran into an item box and picked up a blue shell. He glanced up at Lances screen to see he was in first place, and with a bit of an evil chuckle, threw the blue shell.

It was a few seconds of intense silence, before Lance screamed "NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" garnering a few looks from other campers in the rec center. Keith couldn't hold in his laughter as Lance's character exploded, Hunk and Pidge joining in. Pidge passed him, and went over the finish line, followed by Keith, then Hunk. Even a CPU got past him before Lance could wheel his car over the checkered line. He was silent. A sore loser. Pidge was right.

"I'm sorry Lance-"

"It was _you!_ " His glare was on Keith. "Oh it's on, buddy. You asked for it." Lance threatened.

The next few rounds were fun, intense, but so fun. Keith wasn't doing too bad, he found himself up there with Pidge and Lance a few times, and he loved how frustrated Lance got when he wasn't in first. They played for hours, losing track of time with how much fun they were having. Keith was doing so well, he was a fast learner when it came to video games. Finally, Lance set down the remote and huffed heavily.

"I"m done! I'm so done. He's totally better than me." He got up and put away his controller. "I wanna go see if I can find my cousin, anyway. You guys have fun." He seemed genuinely frustrated. It was cute, Keith thought. He felt accomplished to have made Lance frustrated over a video game. He said bye to Lance as he walked off with his hands in his pockets.

"See? He can't handle losing in Mario Kart." Pidge laughed. Hunk then got up and stretched a bit.

"I'm gonna go see if Shiro needs any help with supper." he said, before dismissing himself with a smile. "It was nice playing with you guys, let's do this again."

Keith stood up too. "I'm gonna head back to the cabin and do some art now."

"Sure. I'll just stay here, I wanna see what other games they got this year." He was already over at the shelf, looking through. "See ya later, Keith."

"Bye, Pidge." He smiled at the small boy, before heading out into the warm air again. He couldn't help but to keep an eye out for Lance on his way back, but he never did end up seeing him. Walking alone was giving him time to cool down a little, regain a bit of energy. He even found himself humming softly to himself once he was on the secluded path to the cabin. When he got there, he flopped down onto his bed and pulled out his sketchbook from under his pillow.

He was about 5 minutes into sketching a male figure (Awfully similar to Lance's), before he realized he forgot to send his dad a text. Guilt hit him like a truck, as he quickly pulled his phone off the charger and opened up his fathers contact. He felt even worse when he saw a Good Morning text from hours ago.

  
**Hey, Dad. Sorry I didn't text you earlier. I was busy with some new friends.**

  
Keith felt a little odd calling them friends. He wasn't sure if they really considered him a friend yet. He really hoped they did... Now the anxiety was kicking in. What if they were just having him around out of pity? Because he was so lonely looking and dull, and depressing. No. He pushed the thoughts away to the back of his mind. He can't keep thinking this about people, he can't continue to think everyone's just doing things for him out of pity. It can't be true. He looked back down at his phone as it buzzed.

  
**Hi, Keith. i'm so happy 2 hear u are having a good time. I am truly relieved.**

  
Keith texted his father for a while. It made him happy to talk to his old man again. He wasn't used to not having his dad around, and he certainly wasn't used to being miles and miles away from him. He told him about each one of his bunk mates, and how they included him in everything. He told him about Lance, and how much of a jerk he was sometimes by scaring him. His dad seemed truly happy that Keith had already met people he could spend time with. Finally, he said goodbye for now, and continued to sketch. He cringed a little at the piece as he sketched it out, realizing that he was subconsciously drawing an artful nude of goddamn Lance. He tore it out quickly and crumpled it, and tossed it into the trash can that was close to his bed. That was wrong, creepy, and goddamn weird of him... he felt kind of gross. It was totally subconscious though, like everything he drew.

Before long, the three of them came back. Lance had a plate of food in his hand, and he stepped up to Keith and placed it down next to him on his bed.

"Someone forgot about supper." He said, before sitting on the edge of his own bed.

"Oh, thanks guys. I'm sorry, I got so caught up in my stuff..."

"No problem, Keith." Lance gave him a kind smile, before reaching under his bed and pulling out his laptop.

Pidge also grabbed his laptop and layed down, and Hunk grabbed a book from his bag and sat down to read. Keith looked around at everyone, noticing they were all preoccupied. He could continue to draw. And he did just that. Keith popped in his headphones, turned on some of his favorite relaxing music, and began to sketch again. He slowly picked away at his supper as he worked. It was about a half hour, and he saw Hunk and Pidge leave. He wasn't too sure what for, since he had his music in. After a while, he felt his bed sink in a little next to him, and he took out a headphone and looked over to see Lance sitting next to him.

"Can I see your art now? I don't really care what it is. I wont judge. I'm just interested." He was looking at Keith's sketch. This time it was a figure, but a female one in an elegant pose.

"You uh... you wanna watch me draw?" He asked nervously.

"Hell yeah. Just pretend I'm not here."

"That's a bit easier said than done, you know." Keith chuckled, but added a few more lines to his drawing anyway. He flinched a little as Lance reached around his head and took out his headphone, putting it in his own ear.

"Huh. Interesting. We have kinda similar tastes in music."

Keith's face grew a little flushed, and he just nodded and kept drawing. Lance was so close to him, he could nearly feel his breath on his neck. They were so close... sharing headphones. They listened to the gentle beat of the song together in silence. He was watching Keith do something he kind of kept to himself for so long. He didn't even show his father his art. This was nice, but somehow in someway... intimate. Keith's heart rate grew as Lance was almost resting his head on his shoulder.

"I'm so bored. Thanks for letting me chill with you." Lance mumbled out.

What? _He_ was thanking _Keith_ for spending time with _him?_ Keith really wasn't used to this at all, someone else thanking him for being there for them. He always just assumed he was the one that needed to thank people for dealing with him and his dull, angry personality.

"No need to thank me or anything..." He said softly, watching his work intently. He strokes became a little stiff, feeling almost weird about Lance being this close. It was only because he wasn't used to the feeling of someone being in his personal space like this. He didn't hate it though, it honestly made him feel warm inside.

"You're really talented you know. She looks so real. And she's really pretty." Lance spoke up again, his compliments making Keith feel even warmer.

"Thank you..." Was all he could muster. On the outside, he was calm, quiet even. But on the inside he was screaming. He wanted Lance to back off, but at the same time he wanted Lance to move in even closed. It was so strange, these two battling conflicts inside of him. But before he could overthink it even more, Lance got up.

"Do you wanna make a fire?" He asked suddenly.

"Oh, uh. Yeah... sure." Keith closed his sketchbook, and paused his music, taking his ear bud out. "I'd love to."

  
He was alone with Lance for when they went out into the woods, collecting sticks and small logs to feed the fire with. It was a little quiet this time, and Keith was a little worried. He felt as if Lance were a little too quiet lately. He wondered if it was about the Mario Kart thing. He couldn't possibly be upset about that still? They headed back to the sandy area in front of their cabin, and they both laid out a little fire pit of wood, surrounding it with stones. Lance finally began to speak up a little more as he took out his lighter and started lighting the dry moss they put in under the wood. It caught, and soon it was a healthy fire, illuminating the darkening atmosphere in relaxing, warm light.

"Lance. You're not mad about the blue shell are you?" Keith felt stupid after it came out of his mouth, but he honestly wanted to know why he seemed off.

"What? Oh my god, no. That would be pretty pathetic. I'm not even mad, why would you think I am?"

"... No reason. You're just a little quiet." Keith said softly, throwing a few twigs onto the fire. The warmth licked at his finger tips a little.

"Quiet? Nah, I'm okay. Just tired." Lance gave him a smile. But there was something a little off about it. Keith couldn't exactly put his finger on what, though.

"Alright, whatever you say." Keith said, before Hunk and Pidge greeted them from the distance. Lance waved them over, and they all sat in the sand around the warmth of the fire. Hunk ended up telling a story, which seemed to lighten up Lance's mood a little, and he started telling some too. He talked about his family a lot, and how much he missed them. How much fun he has with them. How much he loved looking after his three younger siblings. Keith was intrigued, and listened intently to each of his stories. Watching his face light up when talking about his family made Keith feel happy. He laughed along with Lance whenever he did, he smiled with him too. Lance must have truly been an incredible role model for his siblings. Something about this boy just really lightened up Keith's mood.

After about 11 pm, Hunk got some water from the lake in a bucket and extinguished the fire. They all retired then, everyone saying a quick goodnight to each other after changing into their PJ's. Lance switched out the cabin lights, and they all got under the warm blankets. Keith couldn't get to sleep as fast as the others, and found himself lost in thoughts, staring at the back of Lance's head yet again. He rolled over though, and Keith couldn't help but to just... stare. He took in every detail of Lances sleeping face, as he couldn't when Lance was awake. he couldn't get away with staring like this when Lance could catch him.

He was just so handsome. So cute. Something about his personality only added more to that attraction that was growing inside Keith. He found his eyes finally growing heavy. All those thoughts were tiring him out, and he allowed his eyelids to slip closed.

The last thing he saw before sleep took him, was Lance's face, and he could have swore he saw him smiling in his sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the song Keith and Lance were listening to, if anyone's interested;
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhU9MZ98jxo


	4. Something on His Mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the feedback and the kudos, Oh my gosh ;v; I'm hoping to go far with this little series, and I really want to work hard on building up a romance between my two fave boys~
> 
> Thanks so much for sticking with me, and I apologize for taking a bit long on this chapter. I've been at my girlfriend's place for a while now~
> 
> Enjoy uwu

Keith awoke in a cold sweat the next morning. Although, you could hardly call it morning yet. The old digital alarm clock read 5:00 am, illuminating the dark atmosphere with a dim red glow. His breathing was rapid and shaky for a while as he clutched the blanket against his chest. It took him a while to bring himself to stand, but he did eventually. Quietly, he stepped over to the door, fumbled for his jacket among the rest in the dark, and stepped out into the cool air. The sun hadn't warmed the day yet, but it wasn't too freezing. Just enough to want to bundle up a little, especially if you were in boxers and a tank top like Keith.

He slipped on the jacket, before sitting down on the little porch swing. He just needed to take some time and calm himself, take deep breaths. Keith knew how to deal with his panic attacks well by now on his own, since he never did go to anyone else for help. This was his own problem, and only he could fix it after it got to a certain point. It was mainly his nightmares that would set them off, even if he couldn't remember anything about them by the time he awoke. All he knew, was that he could hear his mother's panicked, scared voice ringing through his head during those nightmares. That same tone of voice he heard from her years ago during the accident. He wiped away some of the tears that had collected in his eyes with his sleeve, and picked up on a somewhat familiar scent.

Lance's scent... He looked down at the sleeve, and felt his heart jump a little in his chest. In the dark and in his panicked state, he had grabbed Lance's jacket instead of his own. It was a little baggy on him, warm, and it smelled so... comforting. Tucking his legs up onto the swing, he wrapped the jacket around himself a little tighter. Keith kept the sleeve pressed to his face, relishing in the scent of Lance's cheap cologne. Honestly, it was calming him so fast. He let his heavy eyes slip closed, and found himself lost in that sweet, relaxing smell of the fabric. It wasn't long until he could breathe normally again, feeling himself sink into a calm state. He dried his eyes a little more, before slowly standing up off the swing. The wood was cool and rough underneath his bare feet.

He'd better head back inside and put Lance's jacket back before the alarm starts, he thought to himself. He opened up the door slowly, trying to avoid making it squeak loudly as he entered the dark cabin. Hunk and Lance still snored loudly, and Pidge remained quietly fast asleep as Keith hung Lance's jacket back up beside the door and crept over to his bed. He slid back under his warm covers, glancing at the alarm clock.

5:25 am, it read. Keith sighed softly, picking up his phone to play a game while he waited for the alarm to go off. The night before, he had already threw together his shower supplies so he didn't have to do so this morning while half asleep. At least his panic attack woke him up, so he was ready to get up with the others. As much as he hated nightmares that sent him into a spiral of anxiety, he knew he was strong enough to deal with it on his own now. Ever since the incident when he was 6, the nightmares have been truly plaguing him over the years.

Finally, the shrill sound of the alarm started up. It made Keith jump a little even if he was expecting it. He turned over on his side to face Lance, watching him stir and moan softly in his half asleep state. Tucking the blanket up a little over himself, he watched as Lance sat up and rubbed at his eyes. The tan boy then got up and stumbled tiredly over to the alarm, shutting it off and giving an exaggerated stretch and a yawn.

"Morning, guys." Lance ran his slender fingers through his short chestnut hair as he spoke sleepily. Keith sat up, and Lance looked a little surprised to see Keith so awake already. 

"Huh. You're up without a struggle." He smiled softly, before stepping back over to his bed to throw together some shower supplies.

"Yeah. Guess I got a good night's sleep." He lied. He knew he was tossing and turning all night due to the nightmares, and his back was still on fire from the hard bed.

He looked over to see that Pidge was already by the door with his bag, and Hunk was throwing his stuff together too. Today, Keith made sure to pack his flip flops for that nasty bathroom floor. He threw on some sweatpants and a large grey hoodie and headed over with the others, Lance following once he was ready. They stepped out, and the air was still a tinge cool even as the sun was starting to rise. 

"I'm so exhausted..." Lance spoke up, rubbing a little at his eyes again as they walked down the path. "Kept waking up last night..."

"Nightmares?" Pidge piped up, adjusting his glasses and the heavy bag on his shoulder.

"Something like that." Lance mumbled softly, as if he was trying to keep it to himself. But of course everyone heard it.

"You better be awake enough for the tug of war today!" Hunk exclaimed. He seemed to wake up pretty well, Keith thought. He seemed bright eyed and full of energy as he spoke.

"I am, I am. A shower will help too." Lance said through a loud yawn as they reached the bathrooms. They stepped inside, and all separated into different stalls.

Keith found himself worrying about Lance. He still seemed a little strange, something about him was truly off. Keith couldn't shake the feeling that maybe he did something he wasn't aware of. Maybe it was just his anxiety mixed with his crippling self confidence issues. He didn't know Lance very well yet, but he did know Lance was usually a lot more energetic and cocky than this. He seemed as if something were getting to him, and he wanted to know what it was. Keith wasn't sure why he wanted Lance to confide in him so badly, he barely knew the guy. But it was most likely because nobody had ever confided in him before.

As he rinsed out the shampoo, he could hear the entrance door open and close. He opened up the curtain to see his things were still untouched and where he left them. 'Good', he thought to himself as he shut off the warm water and wrapped his towel around his dripping body. The bathroom was very quiet, almost eerily. 

"Guys?" He asked softly, his voice echoing through the silence. There was no response, but Keith could hear the entrance open and close again as if someone left quietly. He felt his heart sink a little in his chest. Either he had tried to speak to a stranger, or he was ignored completely and left alone in the eerie bathroom. The teen finished dying off and getting dressed, slipping into a t-shirt and sweatpants. As he opened up the stall door, he could see he was the only one left in the bathroom. Again, he felt his heart sink. They left him, and didn't even say a word. Yesterday, Pidge and Hunk left to go get breakfast ahead of time because Keith did take long showers, but at least Lance waited for him.

Maybe that was only because of the trick he played on Keith yesterday, and not because he was actually waiting for him to be kind. Maybe Keith did do something to upset Lance. The only thing he could think of was beating him in Mario Kart, but he really doubted someone could still be salty over a video game like that. He brushed his hair and teeth, and headed out. The sun was up and warming the cool atmosphere a bit more than before. 

As much as he enjoyed his alone time, the silence made him feel lonely for the first time in a while. He was spoiled with constant attention for the last few days, and it felt almost strange to be alone now. It felt strange being ignored by Lance, especially. He loved the attention that boy gave him, and without it, he couldn't help but to crave it a little. As he got to the main area, he saw the three at the same picnic table as they were yesterday. Hunk waved him over with that signature, kind grin of his, and Keith gave a wave back before heading over to grab some fruit off the buffet table. Keith headed over to them and sat down next to Hunk, his eyes nervously on Lance, who seemed to be anxiously watching the field where people were gathering.

"The tug of war starts soon." Lance said, before turning to Hunk. Keith couldn't help but to remain staring as he ate his strawberries. He wanted to talk to Lance so badly. Wanted to know why he was acting like this out of nowhere. Did he finally realize Keith wasn't a great person to have around? Was he tired of Keith's dull, boring personality?

"Yep! We got this, Lance. We're totally indestructible." Hunk said, standing up. Lance quickly got up and followed. "Keith, are you gonna join us? It's a lot of fun." The bigger male looked down at Keith. Keith swallowed a mouthful of strawberry.

"I uh, I think I'll stay and watch with Pidge." He said softly, before looking over to Pidge as if to ask for permission.

"Okay, suit yourself! Root for us, guys!" Hunk beamed as a horn sounded, grabbing lances hand and heading over to the gathering crowd in the field. Keith just sighed a little to himself and picked at his food, before Pidge nudged him a little as he got up and sat next to him on the picnic table bench.

 

"You doing okay, Keith? You seem kinda down." He said, his voice kind yet concerned.

"I'm fine, I'm just... uh... homesick." He murmured, his eyes still on his plate. He tucked black strands behind his ear, before glancing up to see Lance and Hunk, holding onto the rope, getting ready to pull.

"Yeah, don't worry. We all get homesick sometimes. Just remember, they'll always be there waiting for you when the camp is over." 

"Yeah... Thanks. I know that, guess I just can't help it..."

Pidge just smiled a little as the two watched their bunk mates pulling at the rope dramatically.

"Is Lance okay?" Keith found himself blurting out. He couldn't really help it. He knew Pidge knew Lance way better than he did, and maybe Lance told him something Keith didn't know.

"Oh, Lance? Haha..." Pidge seemed a little anxious now. As if he wanted to say things, but he held his breath for a while as he thought. A loud horn sounded, breaking the silence. Keith looked up to see Lance's side had lost, and he found himself cringing a little as he looked at the discouraged, frustrated expression on Lance's face.

"He has a lot on his mind, that's all. Stuff with himself. Stuff with his family..." Pidge trailed off, leaning back against the wooden table as he continued. "I wish I could tell you more, especially because it has to do with you, Keith." 

"What?" Keith sat up a little, his eyes turning to look at the smaller of the two. Now he was very interested in what was going on. Pidge had a bit of a soft smile on his face now.

"It's nothing to worry about. It's not anything bad. Well, for you..." 

"What do you mean? Can't you just tell me?" Keith practically begged him, turning to face him on the bench.

"Sorry, man... I think you'll figure out sooner than later though. If Lance mans up a little."

Keith slumped a little in his seat, his indigo eyes moving back to Lance. He could have sworn Lance's gaze was fixed on him, before flitting away quickly to focus back on pulling the rope. Again, they lost. And again, until it was declared the opposite team won. The air was filled with cheers from the latter team, and Lance flopped onto his back in the grass dramatically, his chest heaving from the exertion. Hunk took a seat next to him, panting himself.

Pidge got up to run over to the defeated boys, and Keith followed behind slowly. 

"Man, I'm sorry. I kept losing my grip." Lance groaned, sitting up and wiping some sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his blue and white raglan shirt.

"It's cool, Lance! We held up pretty good even if we lost. No need to get sad!" Hunk gave him a reassuring pat on the back. Keith stepped up to the two slowly, his arms crossed across his chest.

"You did great, guys." He smiled, really pushing himself into the conversation. Lance stayed quiet, but gave Keith a sweet smile.

"Thanks, Keith." Hunk laughed. "Too bad we lost. You should join next time!"

"Yeah, I'll give it a shot."

 

The four all walked back to their cabin together, laughing and talking. Lance seemed to be in a bit of a better mood, but he almost seemed to be going out of his way to avoid Keith. It only made the boy's anxiety grow deeper, and he knew he had to figure out what was going on before he lost his cool.

"Lance? Are you alright?" He finally spoke up, looking over at Lance as they walked on down the path. The Cabin was just up ahead now.

"What? Yeah I'm okay. I told you I'm fine." Was all he said. He gave Keith a bit of a strange look. "Why?"

"... Nothing. Sorry, I just... I thought you were upset at me or something." Keith looked away, as the four got back to their site.

"Why would I be, Keith? You're fine..." Lance trailed off, his usual full of energy tone seemed dull. His face looked as if he had a million things on his mind at once, before he turned away and stepped up onto the porch and into the cabin. "I'm gonna go for a swim."

Keith just watched him disappear into the cabin with a squeak of the door, before Hunk stepped up beside him.

"He's okay Keith. He's just got a bit of problems with family. His grandfather's been living with his family ever since his grandmother died, and he has some pretty harsh opinions." Hunk's voice was soft and calm as he spoke to Keith.

"Should I try and leave him alone? Or should I talk to him...?" Keith asked, his tone sounded genuinely worried. He wanted Lance back to the way he was. He wanted that sweet smile, that adorable laugh...

"Pidge and I are gonna go to the rec center. You should really go talk to him."

"Yeah...? Okay. I can try my best to talk to him..." The smaller male was unsure, nervously tucking his hair behind his ear as he looked up at Hunk. The other smiled down at him, giving him a gentle nod before walking off down the trail with Pidge. Keith just stood there, watching their backs until they disappeared between the thick trees. He turned his unsure gaze to the cabin, then.

Okay... Talk to him. You can do that. It shouldn't be too hard to just talk to someone...

Keith stepped up the ramp of the porch, and opened up the door cautiously. "Hey..." He said softly as his eyes met Lance's. He had just finished changing into his blue swim trunks, and was rooting through his bag for some sun screen.

"Hey." The tan boy responded, before throwing a towel over his shoulder and facing Keith. Keith stood in the doorway, fidgeting a little with the strings on his sweatpants.

"Lance..." He started, stepping closer to him slowly, trying his best to keep his eyes on Lance. "I know we don't know each other very well yet, but if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here." he began to speak, his voice wavering ever so slightly. "A-And I don't judge people or anything. I know what it's like to be judged and bullied and... I guess what I'm trying to say is, if there's something on your mind, you can tell me. I'm worried about you..." He cringed a little as he spoke that last part, worrying he was far too forward.

It was silent for a moment, and Keith looked down at his feet. Lance just laughed softly, before stepping past the nervous Keith and out the front door. Great, Keith thought to himself as he shut his eyes closed with frustration. He looked like an absolute idiot. Lance wasn't going to open himself up to someone like him, why would he? He had Pidge and Hunk. He already had people he could talk to. He didn't need some nobody like Keith.

Keith turned around as he heard the door opened again behind him, blinking in surprise as something hit him in the face. He pulled the fabric off of his head, and looked down at it. The red swim trunks.

"Come swimming with me again. I'll tell you what's going on, okay? It's only fair." he said softly, before leaving Keith alone to change. He just clutched the swim trunks tightly, taking a moment to breathe. He really thought he blew it for a second there. Thank god...

Quickly, he changed into the bathing suit and headed outside to see Lance with his back to him, standing in the water up to his waist. Keith just made his way over to the shoreline, taking in a deep breath, before stepping in. He walked through the sand slowly, until he was up to his knees in the warm water of the lake. Lance turned around to face him, and waded over to where Keith stood. The two remained quiet as the taller male approached Keith, standing there for a moment, before plopping himself down with a splash in the shallow water. Keith took a seat next to him in the soft sand.

"Keith?"

"Yeah?"

"You have an open mind, right? You're not like... against certain things?" Lance spoke cautiously. His voice was slow, and his tone seemed a little less confident than it usually was.

"Of course... Like I said, I would never judge anyone." Keith looked over at Lance to see him fidgeting a little with the sand that was underneath the surface. "I know what it's like to be judged hard and... I'm seriously not that much of an asshole." 

"Alright. Well... It's not too easy for me to say because of the household I grew up in." His voice cracked nervously, and Keith didn't say anything, waiting patiently for Lance to talk. His eyes were trained on the boy's nervous expression. He seemed so uncomfortable with himself... Finally, Lance spoke up again.

"I'm bi." He muttered, his previous confidence completely diminished at this point.

"So?" Keith responded quickly, and Lance looked at him with a bit of an unreadable expression. "I don't mind or anything... It's fine. It's normal... I still see you as the same Lance as before." Inside he was exploding, but on the outside he remained calm and collected, speaking to Lance as if literally nothing had changed. But something did change. Keith had a chance with him. He knew he shouldn't be thinking like this during times of his new friends insecurities, but he couldn't help it. His heart was racing and he wanted to pull Lance into a tight hug. He just wanted to tell him that everything was going to be okay, and that he'd always be there for him through times like these. He wanted to protect his new friend.

"You think so? Thanks Keith... I knew you wouldn't go being an asshole or anything. Guess It's just hard to deal with when your dad and your grandfather are super... homophobic. You kind of get used to the fact that there's always people who wont accept you. And it hurts more when it's your own flesh and blood..." His voice was genuine and rather sad, which only made Keith want to hug him even more. He had no idea how to comfort people, he's never had to. So he just sat there quietly for a while, before gathering up all the bravery he had to scootch over an inch closer to the insecure boy.

"Lance... Don't ever let anyone else suppress who you are. Even if it's your family... Okay?" He spoke softly and calming, his eyes never leaving Lance. Lance met his gaze then, and a small smile tugged at the corner of those soft lips of his. "Do Hunk and Pidge know?"

"Yeah. And Shiro. I talked to him about it last year, he's a pretty trustworthy guy."

"What did he tell you?"

"The same thing as you did. Be myself, and stuff like that. I know it's what I have to do, but how do you go about being happy and expressing yourself, but also disappointing your dad and your dying grandfather?" His head was resting across his forearms as he sat with his knees up. Keith couldn't help but to place a hand on Lance's back gently.

"I know..." Was all he could think to say. He moved in a little closer so their hips were touching yet again, and he gently moved his hand up and down against the smooth skin on Lance's back. It felt right to be so close to Lance. It felt so warm, so comfortable... So perfect. He could feel the other relax a little under his touch, and Keith was starting to feel his heart race in his chest again. He wanted to tell Lance he was gay, suddenly. The urge was strong, but he refrained, mostly because he's never told a single soul himself, and he wanted to focus on making Lance feel better. That was his deepest, darkest secret anyways, that not even someone as close as his father knew. He loved his father, and he knew his father loved him, but he was scared of their relationship changing if he ever figured out.

Keith only realized he was gay during high school. He experimented a little with a girl he was close with at the time, but deep down knew he just wasn't into it. He tried his best, but ended up going home in the middle of it, lying and pretending his dad wanted him home. He's found males so enticing, so attractive. Something he's never felt with a female before. 

And being with Lance, he knew even more he was gay. He has never crushed so hard on someone before. he's had crushes on guys in school, but they all got girlfriends and he knew he never stood a chance. 

"Keith... Thanks for being so accepting. I mean, you barely know me-"

"I want to know you." He said quickly, immediately regretting it as he sank down a little, withdrawing his hand off of Lance's back. Lance just laughed softly, and rested his head on Keith's shoulder.

"I want to know you too, man." His voice was soft, sincere as he let his eyes close. Keith shuddered softly, feeling Lance's eyelashes against the sensitive skin on his neck. He drew in a breath, before nervously leaning his head against Lance's.

The two sat there in the shallow water of the lake for a long time. It was quiet, but not awkward. The silence was inviting, sweet almost. Keith felt so warm inside, and so thrilled that Lance opened up this much to him. If the summer continued in this way, Keith knew he was truly going to enjoy his time here.


	5. LoveSick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how long this one took! I've been really good at updating fast till this point, but as you all know it was Shiro's birthday! I was spending a while on drawing a piece for the best space dad ever! uwu
> 
> If anyone's interested in seeing it, here you go!  
> https://twitter.com/sakiichu/status/836619516058677248
> 
> Anyways, enjoy the new chapter~! ;3

" _Fuuuuuuck_ , Keith..." Lance muttered softly, worrying his lip as Keith laid down on his belly on the small bed. Lance's hands gently pressed against the warm skin on Keith's usually pale back as he sat down on the edge of his bed. The dark haired boy just whined, and buried his face in his forearms, causing Lance wince at the sight of him. Keith couldn't believe this was happening. This is the exact reason why he didn't go out in the sun often.

"You're so burnt, Keith... I'm so sorry. I totally forgot about sun screen." Lance apologized, squirting some aloe gel onto the palm of his hand. The two were so into their deep, emotional bonding moment out in the water this morning, that they totally forgot to apply sun screen. Talking and being with the other boy made his mind go blank, and he forgot how easily and how badly he burnt in the sun, being as fair skinned as he was.

"I'm gonna start rubbing you down, Keith. Ready?" He asked, moving in a little closer to the pained Keith. He just nodded, his face still buried in the blankets and in his arms.

"Ah, god! It feels so cold..." Keith complained after sucking in a sharp gasp, squirming a little as Lance gently pressed his palms against his back. As he rubbed along the burnt red skin, Keith couldn't help but to groan a little in pain. The cooling sensation of the aloe felt great, relaxing almost. But it also hurt so badly to be touched right now.

"I barely get burnt." Lance's voice was soft as he continues to massage Keith. "I'm used to spending a lot of time in the sun where I'm from. Plus, I have a pretty flawless complexion." He added, matter-of-factly.

"Nnngh. Where are you- ah! From?" Keith asked him, trying his best not to squirm so much under Lance's gentle touch. It stung so much, but he knew the aloe would help.

"I'm from Cuba." He spoke through a smile, removing his hands for a moment to grab some more aloe gel.

"You're from Cuba?" Keith perked up a little in interest, only to be gently pushed back down by Lance, with a soft tsk.

"Stay down! I have to do your shoulders. Relax or you'll make it hurt more." He spoke sternly, before starting to massage the gel into his burnt shoulders. Again, Keith found himself unable to stay still, jumping and jolting here and there, wincing with the stinging pain.

"Yeah, I'm from Cuba." He hummed, ignoring Keith's struggles underneath him. "We have a super nice place right off of Veradero beach."

"Wow..." Keith was a little amazed as he spoke through bit of a cringe. That sounded like a fantasy of a life. Like something straight out of a movie. Lance's cute, subtle Spanish accent was starting to make more sense now. This only made him even more interesting to Keith, and he wanted to know even more. He didn't know much about Cuba, but now he really wanted to. Lance finally finished rubbing aloe into his burnt skin, and he painfully sat up so he was sitting cross legged on his bed, his deep blue eyes meeting Lances light ones. "That's... really amazing, Lance."

"Yeah... It's a pretty beautiful place. I mean, I'm used to it at this point, so it's not crazy exciting or anything, but it's home. And I love it." The other smiled softly as he spoke fondly of his home, yet avoiding bragging about it. Keith just stared, taking in that sweet expression of his. "Where are you from?" Lance spoke up again, their eyes meeting each others again.

"I'm from Florida. Just a suburban area, nothing really all that exciting." Keith said as he tied up his black hair, so it stopped getting stuck in the gel on his shoulders. "But yeah, it's home."

"Florida, huh? I don't mean to sound stereotypical or anything, but like... is it safe? Where you live?"

"Oh, yeah. It's a safe neighborhood... well, relatively. I guess it's as safe as family suburban places get? It's not like there's a shit ton of crime or anything-"

"Oh my god, no. I meant like, do crocodiles just sneak into your house?" The boy's eyes were wide as he asked, soft lips pursed together in worry.

"... No, Lance."

"Alligators then?"

"No..." Keith shook his head with a chuckle. Lance was so ridiculous. "Well... one time, I was kind of chased by one... I'm not really helping the stereotypes about Florida, huh?"

"Dios Mio, Keith! You were _chased_ by a crocodile?" The look on Lance's face was priceless. So adorable.

"Alligator."

"Does it matter?! That's horrifying! You could have lost a leg or something!"

"It hardly took a step after me, it just lunged a little." Keith was laughing.

"STILL!"

"I'm fine, Lance, I'm fine. I just know not to go near swampy areas anymore." Keith held up his hands in his figurative defense, finding it unbearably cute how worried Lance was over him. This happened years ago, it's not like he was in any danger now, yet Lance still sounded so worked up about it. How could this boy get any cuter at this point? Honestly, it was starting to become impossible, and Keith was falling hard and fast for the boy.

"Good. What were you even thinking? Isn't Florida crawling with giant man eating lizards? Why would you go near a swamp?!"

"Crawling with them? I dunno about that. I only ever came across like... two. I was just taking a walk, it's not like I knew it was a swamp at first." Keith let out a tired laugh. "Anyways, I think I got heat stroke or something. Would you mind if I took a nap?" He moved to lay down on his side, before wincing again. Too close to his back. He flipped onto his belly, resting his cheek on the soft pillow. "My heads kind of pounding..."

"Of course, Keith..." Lance responded softly. "You need lots of rest if you want to get better fast." Keith's eyes were growing heavier by the second, and his head ached from the sun exposure. His body felt as if it sank deeper into the hard mattress underneath him, as he felt Lance's slender fingers tuck some of his dark locks behind his ear. It sent a bit of a small shiver up the length of his spine.

His cheeks flushed as he looked up at Lance. Keith then turned his head the other way and shut his eyes, gaining a soft giggle from Lance. It was quiet for a while, before Lance gently pulled the elastic from Keith's hair and began running his fingers through the soft black locks. Keith felt as if he would melt at this rate, with Lance's soft, sweet touch. A small satisfied sigh left his soft lips as he lay there, Lance ever so gently petting him like a cat. He was growing sleepier and more relaxed by the second. It felt so nice... If he wasn't so exhausted from the heat stroke, his heart would be racing under Lance's touch. Finally, the petting stopped. He felt Lance get up off his bed, and head over to the door of the cabin quietly.

"I'm gonna go see if I can find Pidge and Hunk. You're cool to chill here for a while? We're gonna have a fire tonight, so you should nap until then." Keith listened to Lance's soft voice. That voice he grew to adore more than anything. He turned his head back over so he could watch him at the door.

"Yeah... Please." he mumbled from his pillow, painfully moving to pull the warm sheets over his sore body. It hurt for a moment as the blanket laid on his back, but the pain quickly ceased. Lance gave a quick goodbye, before heading out with a squeak of the door. Keith watched him leave, before letting his heavy eyelids slip closed after the door shut.

  
.............................................................

 

  
Lance walked down the wooded path in thoughtful solitude, his hands resting in the pockets of his jeans. He couldn't seem to get Keith out of his head lately. It's only been a few days since the two had met, and Lance knew this was beginning to get dangerous. That sweet moment they had in the shallow water together was so nice, and Lance only found himself craving more. He craved attention from Keith, but he wasn't too sure that Keith wanted attention back from him. He knew he had a bit of a pushy personality, and he hoped with every bit of his being that Keith didn't find his attention annoying. He wouldn't know what to do if he did...

"Lance! there you are!" He was ripped from his thoughts as Hunk called out to him from a little further up ahead the path. He smiled and jogged over to meet up with his friend.

"Hunk, hey. I was just on my way to find you and Pidge. I _really_ need to talk to you..." Lance ushered Hunk to walk alongside him as he spoke. Hunk looked a little worried at that statement.

"Is everything okay, Lance?"

"Yeah! Yeah, well... It's kind of the same thing I mentioned before. But I think it's getting, like... worse." Lance's voice dropped to nearly a whisper around the end of his sentence, his eyes trained on his feet as they walked on. Hunk looked around for a moment, making sure nobody was in ear shot before speaking up.

"Your crush?" He asked softly, his eyes trained on Lance. His expression seemed unusual for someone as happy and cocky as he was. He seemed nervous, almost shaky as he chewed on his lower lip.

"Yeah." He sighed. "I just... I don't really know what to do about it. I've always kind of known I..." Lance looked around for a second, before continuing. "... Liked guys. But I've never really met one I've been this attracted to and... Man. I really just wanted to like a girl, it would make my life so much easier."

"Lance! No." Hunk stopped and firmly grasped Lances arms, looking him in the eye. He had a serious expression, one that Lance hasn't seen too often from someone as sweet as Hunk. He stuttered a little, before Hunk spoke sternly, yet softly.

"You like whoever you like. Nothing can change that, okay? Who cares if it'll make your life easier if you ended up with a girl over someone of the same gender. If people give you a hard time about it, ignore them. You and I both know, along with tons of other people, that there is _nothing_  wrong with being with another guy, okay?"

Lance just stared back at Hunk, his expression a little surprised. A small smile spread across his cheeks, and he nodded.

"Yeah, you know what? You're right." Lance finally spoke up with a bit more confidence. "I mean... who knows if it'll even work out. I don't know if he's even into guys... Even if he is it's not like he'd like someone like me-"

"Lance!" Hunk interrupted him. "You're literally one of the most charming, fun to be around dudes I know. Seriously, don't be so hard on yourself. It's worth a try if you're interested in him! I say you should go for it. And if Pidge were here, I know he'd tell you to go for it too. Hell, I bet he'd even try and set the both of you up!"

"I-I don't need anything like that! I'm fine at flirting... I mean, with girls. I dunno if those pickup lines work on guys, or let alone someone like Keith..." Lance felt his insecurities just piling up one after another. The second he started to gain confidence about one thing, his mind brought up a million other scenarios where he get's rejected and hurt. His heart was racing, and his mind was spinning. He stepped back from Hunk a little, and drew a breath.

"Look... I'm going to try and take things as slow as possible. The last thing I want to do is mess this up. Keith's so cute, I really want to get to know him better... But how will I know if I even have a chance? I kind of want to know early on, so I don't get hurt..." Lance was subconsciously fidgeting with his sweater strings as he rambled, and Hunk put a gentle hand on his shoulder. The sincere look on his face was enough to make Lance settle slightly.

"Lance. You have more than a chance in my opinion. Don't quote me on this or anything, but the way I see Keith looking at you... it kind of looks like he's into you. I mean, he could just really want to be your friend or admire you, but honestly he looks at you like..."

"Like what?" Lance urged him as he paused, eagerly.

"Like how Rose looks at Jack in the titanic."

"Oh my god, what?! Really? He does?"

"Yeah, you dork! But seriously, take things slow. Just 'cause he looks at you longingly sometimes doesn't mean he's... okay well, honestly it might. But still, just to be safe, take things slow Lance." Hunk informed him carefully. Lance felt excited now, but he knew he couldn't over hype himself. Last time he ran in with over confidence, he was rejected badly, in front of everyone. The memory was painful to think about still, even now, and he never wanted to go through that again. He's flirted with a lot of girls at his college, Hunk and Pidge groaning every time at how cheesy he was. But this was different, probably because Keith was a boy. And very, very emo. Also, Lance didn't realize he had a thing for mullets, but they way Keith tied his hair up like that... it made his heart go crazy.

"Oh man, what do I even do to find out if I have a chance with him?" Lance asked as the two continued on down the wooded path. He was so eager on the inside, but he remained calm and cool on the outside. He didn't want Hunk to think we was obsessed or anything. It's not like he was.

"Like I said, take things slowly. Hang out with him as much as you can! Just keep doing what your doing." The bigger male insisted. "I'll try to help, but I'm not too great with romance advice or anything..." He laughed nervously. Ever since Lance met him in college, he's never known Hunk to really put himself out there. He's been texting with a girl he met recently, but he wouldn't even tell Lance what was going on between them even if Lance pestered him persistently about it constantly. Literally the only thing he knew about her, was that her name was Shay or something of the sort.

"I'm the master of romance, dude. I don't need help or anything!" Lance said with that cocky grin of his. Hunk just nodded with a chuckle.

"Alright, Lance, alright. Just let things run their course, and don't be pushy. No finger guns. And no cheesy pickup lines."

"Whaaat? But that always get's the girls attention."

"Uhm, yeah but is Keith one of those swooning girls?"

"Well, no, but maybe it'll work on him if I make it like, extra sexy."

"Lance, no."

"You know, like, bam." The finger guns were out. "Hey sweet thing, do you have a name, or can I just call you mine?"

"Lance, you know his name. You're trying to win him over not push him away!"

"What about... oh! What about-" Lance waggled his eyebrows at Hunk for a moment. "Are you a fruit, because Honeydew you know how fine you look right now?"

"...You can't just call a potentially gay guy a fruit." Hunk put a hand on his forehead, heaving a bit of a sigh. "No pickup line-"

"Wait, wait. I'm not staring at your boobs. I'm staring at your heart."

"Lance, stop it. I'm pretty sure Keith doesn't have boobs."

 

  
Finally, Keith awoke with a sudden, horrible sick feeling. The overwhelming nausea woke him up abruptly, and he groaned painfully. His head still hurt, and now he was starting to feel sick. Just great.  
He hugged the covers in closer, trying his hardest to just get back to sleep so he didn't end up getting sick. He hated throwing up so much, and he especially didn't want to now that he was here. There wasn't a bathroom anywhere near him, and throwing up in a bucket or the woods sounded like hell. The sunstroke was really taking a toll on him already.

Just then, he heard the door open. He opened his tired eyes to see Lance and Hunk stepping in, whispering to each other.

"Laaance..." He murmured out in his pained state. "I'm gonna be sick... Help..."

"Oh! shit your awake, ah, hang on Keith!" Lance was caught by surprise at hearing his name coming from the lump curled up under the blankets. He stepped over quickly to grab the trashcan, and headed over to sit on the edge of Keith's bed with it in hand.

"Dude... are you okay?" He asked, resting a hand on Keith's' back. He had to look away as Keith sat up suddenly, and threw up into the trashcan that he was holding. He was used to this kind of thing though, being the oldest sibling in his household growing up. Hunk cringed from where he stood next to his bed, but still held a look of sympathy on his face. When Keith was finally done heaving, he laid back down. Lance could feel his body trembling, and it honestly hurt his chest. He felt so bad, he could have helped Keith avoid this if he just remembered the sun screen. He put the bucket down, and started to rub Keith's back gently. He stayed quiet, honestly not knowing what to say or do other than to keep comforting him.

"I'm so sorry, Keith. Do you feel a little better?" He asked softly, again brushing some sweaty hair from his Keith's forehead to rest a palm against it. He was so warm... God. Lance felt his heart drop in his chest as Keith weakly looked up at him, his body still shaking from the vomiting.

"I'm fine... Just... sunstroke I think. I don't really feel sick anymore..." He mumbled, before closing his eyes again. Lance sighed softly, and looked up at Hunk.

"I'll go grab some water bottles, okay?" Hunk headed back for the door quickly, obviously very worried himself.

"Thanks, Hunk. I'll just watch him..." He spoke softly, sadly almost, as he watched Keith. He continued to comfort him, rubbing his back as gently as he could as Hunk ducked out to grab some water bottles. The guilt he felt for some reason was next to crippling, even if it wasn't really his fault. The fact that he could have prevented it wouldn't get out of his head.

"We're gonna get tons of water into you, okay Keith?" He kept his voice sweet and soft as he spoke to the sick boy. "It'll go away in no time. My little brother always used to get sunstroke, he'd never wear his hat. My Mama would force him to wear it when he went out on the beach, but he'd always be a little bugger and take it off after he was out of sight." Lance laughed softly, moving a hand up to press against Keith's cheeks and forehead again. Still warm, but cooling down a little.

"Okay..." Was all the other male could mumble out. Lance tucked in the blankets around him a little more. He couldn't stop touching him. He wanted to take all of his pain away, and he wanted Keith to be okay. Soon, Hunk arrived with a basket of water bottles, and Shiro.

"Is he doing okay?" The counselor stepped up to the bed with Hunk.

"Yeah, he's alright. Just a little sick from a bit too much sun." Lance took the water Hunk handed him. Lance helped the weak boy to sit up. He wasn't trembling anymore, as he took the water bottle after Lance opened it for him. Keith took a long drink, downing more than half of it in a few thirsty gulps.

"Atta boy. Just keep drinking tons of water... here." Lance grabbed another water bottle, and got up to rummage through his bag for a moment. He pulled out a facecloth, poured some of the cold water on it, and sat back down on the edge of Keith's bed. He placed the cold facecloth against Keith's forehead as he laid down on his back.

"I'm glad he's doing alright... Hunk just let me know he was sick. Just wanted to make sure it wasn't anything too bad. You guys just keep him cool, out of the sun and well hydrated, okay?" Shiro kept his eyes on Keith as he spoke. He then looked up to Lance, and Lance nodded with a smile.

"I got this under control. I'm basically a caretaker for my little siblings." He said matter of factly. Once Shiro was satisfied that Keith was alright, he left. Hunk and Lance kept a good eye on him, basically forcing him to drink every 20 minutes. Keith finally made it through three water bottles, before he passed out again.

"He's so tired... I feel so bad." Lance couldn't shake the guilt, as he let a fresh, cold facecloth on his forehead as he slept. He stared at that sweet, sleeping face and sighed softly to himself.

"You can't blame yourself for that! You both forgot about the sun." Hunk reassured him, looking up from his book.

"I know, I know. Just can't help it. I just hope he recovers as fast as my little bro does." He stood from Keith's bed and headed over to lay down on his own. Pidge then came in, and immediately made a bit of a face.

"Oh, god. What is that smell? Did someone throw up...?" His eyes were on Keith, curled up in his blankets with a cloth on his forehead.

"Shit! I gotta go clean that out..." Lance got up again. As much as it was disgusting, he wanted to care for Keith in every way he could.

"Oh, ew... Is he alright?" Pidge sat down on his bed after putting down his laptop bag.

"He's okay, just a bit of heatstroke." Hunk said, sitting up and putting down his book after slipping in a bookmark. Lance grabbed the puke bucket and headed outside, washing it out in the lake. He found himself holding back a few gags himself, but managed. He headed back into the cabin and places the clean trashcan next to Keith's bed.

"I'll have to see if I can get some food into him later. It's almost supper time anyway, so I'll just grab him some fruit or something that will be light on his belly." Lance plopped back down onto his bed, his eyes never leaving the sad lump of blankets that was a sick Keith. He honestly wasn't sure why he felt such a protective nature over this guy already. It was probably just that stupid interest in him he had so badly. He couldn't be falling this hard for someone he met a few days ago. Either way, he knew he was going to nurse Keith back to health as fast as he possibly could.

Later that night, the three bunk mates went to grab supper. Lance put together a plate of strawberries and grapes. He saw that Keith liked strawberries the other day, so he thought it was a safe bet. And who doesn't like grapes? They headed back to the cabin to eat there so they could look after Keith. Lance gently shook the boy awake, and gave him the plate of food. Keith reluctantly took a few bites, only able to get a few strawberries down before Lance forced some more water into him. He was just so tired, and still a little nauseous, so Lance let him go back to sleep. He was satisfied with how much he ate and drank, so he let it go. Sleep was the number one cure for sickness usually anyway.

He got up and moved back to sit on his own bed. He pulled out his laptop to play some games and check his social media, eyeing Keith every few minutes. He was so out cold, Lance needed to stop worrying himself so much. When he touched his forehead earlier, he was nearly back to a normal body temperature, so there really wasn't anything to be so worried over. Keith was going to be just fine, as long as Lance is around, that was for sure.


	6. A whole new level of pining

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to thank you guys again for all of the awesome feedback! The kudos keep going up, and that literally makes my day!! 
> 
> Hope you guys are enjoying reading this as much as I enjoy writing it~

The next few days were pretty painful for Keith. He was still feeling the wrath of the sun from yesterday, and his upper back and shoulders were redder than ever. It ached and itched so badly. He'd go and shower with the others every day, but he'd wear his baggy hoodie to stay out of the sun the best he could. Other than showers and food, he stayed holed up in the cabin, working on his art, with Lance by his side, sharing headphones again. Why this boy was so interested in watching him sketch, he'd never know. Thankfully the sunstroke died down quickly though, Lance and the others on his back about keeping well hydrated. It was a little annoying, having Lance so pushy and forcing him to down an entire water bottle before he'd leave him be. But other than that, Keith didn't have it too bad. Every night, Lance would gently rub his shoulders with aloe gel to help ease the burn, and honestly, Keith loved every second of it. It felt like such a sweet and gentle massage, and Keith couldn't help but to find Lance's soothing touches to be so relaxing. Being touched like this seemed to be a stress reliever for him. He forgot about every single worry and anxious thought that plagued his mind under his friend's gentle hands.

He kept in touch with his father during the week he was burnt and basically bedridden, telling him all about how he forgot just how badly and easily he burnt under the sun, and how his friends were helping him heal. His dad never put too much emotion into the way he texted, but Keith could tell he was ecstatic that he made such great friends already. It made him smile, the way his father was always cheering him on like this. Ever since he was little up until now, his dad was always there for him. It made him a little worried sometimes, to think about his sexuality, and about Lance. He just hoped his dad would cheer him on if he fell in love with a boy. Which honestly, he was starting to think he was.

The first week was almost over now; and he knew he was falling hard for that sweet, cocky, Cuban boy. Literally everything about him now, was so entrancing to Keith. It started off with small little glances here and there, just like Keith would give any boy he found physically attractive. But that was just so... empty. It was only what was on the outside that counted at first for him, he was starting to think he was shallow. But Keith never got past the point of finding someone physically attractive before. He's only looked at someone from a distance, or given a boy a glance as they walked by. He's never been able to spend time with someone he's checked out until now. And boy, was he a mess. At first, even if Lance was cute, Keith found him a little overbearing at times. But now there was just something about him, whether it be his personality, his charm, his looks. It didn't even matter anymore. Keith couldn't get enough of Lances attention, it was almost something he craved for now.

He wanted Lance to like him back. He wanted it so desperately, but with the way Lance acted he doubted he had the chance. Plus he knew someone as cheerful and funny as Lance wouldn't want to be weighed down by someone like Keith. He was trying to put himself out there more around Lance, he wanted him to find him fun to be around, like Pidge and Hunk. He wanted to come out of his shell on this trip, and that wall he built up around himself was nearly completely gone when he got to spend time with Lance.

 

  
Keith was sitting under the shade of the porch roof on the swing, sketching away. The sunset along the water cast an orange glow in the atmosphere, enough lighting for Keith to see what he was drawing well enough. The silence was nice, the only sounds audible were the scratching of his pencil on the paper, and the gentle lapping of the lake waves along the shore. He pulled the blanket he had around his shoulders around himself a little more, tucking his knees up into his over sized hoodie. Somehow, the evening was a little chilly. It felt nice though, since he was still mildly burnt. The cool air was good for a change, since it's normally far too hot out. After a while, he heard the sound of footsteps along the sand.

"Keith!" The teen looked up from his sketchbook to see Lance approaching him quickly, with an excited smile on his face. Even only a week into knowing him, his heart would still start to pound a little faster when he'd see Lance. He was a little out of breath as he stepped up the porch to the swing. He plopped himself down onto it next to Keith.

"Hey, Lance." The dark haired boy just smiled, closing up his book and setting it down next to him. He kept his knees tucked into the large hoodie, and Lance just giggled at him.

"Look at you all bundled up. Are you cold?" Lance asked, nudging himself a little closer to Keith. Keith just nodded, before opening up the blanket that was wrapped around him, and putting half of it around Lance's shoulders.

"Thanks, Keith." Lance scootched in closer and wrapped half of the blanket around himself, and the two sat hip to hip bundled up and warm. The sun was starting to go down now, leaving them in darkness. The sky was a dim purple color, and riddled with stars. Lance was staring up at them, something about the sky tonight was just so beautiful to look at. But Keith found his own gaze trained on Lance's blue eyes, finding beauty in the way the stars pooled in them. The sweet look on his face, the sense of wonder that took over his expression as he pointed to the sky.

"A shooting star! did you see it?" Lance looked over to Keith excitedly. He was caught. He had been staring at Lance so intently the whole time, and it made his cheeks flush when Lance took notice to the obvious gawking.

"...What is it? Is there something on my face?" Lance asked softly, nearly a whisper. Keith looked away, obviously flustered.

"No, sorry. I just..." He trailed off.

"Yeah...?" Lance's voice was soft as his eyes remained trained on Keith. He seemed anxious to know why Keith was looking at him so intently, but Keith knew he didn't have an answer other than 'Well, you're just so beautiful with the stars in your eyes.' He couldn't say something like that to him though. That would be completely idiotic and cheesy. They sat in silence for a few seconds, Keith mulling over a thousand things he could say in his head, his eyes trained on his feet and his cheeks tinted a light red.

"Guys! You coming?" Hunk called out from the path, startling the two. Lance quickly got up from where he sat, bundled up next to Keith.

"Uh, Yeah! I was just about to tell Keith about the bonfire. And our plans..." He laughed nervously, giving Keith a smile as he scratched his head. It felt like his heart fluttered in his chest as he met Lance's sweet gaze. It's as if Lance was trying to hide something in the way he was talking to Hunk... and honestly, it made Keith sort of anxious. In a good way.

"Did we interrupt something?" Pidge added nonchalantly as the two stepped up to the porch to meet Lance and Keith. Keith just remained sitting with his blanket, looking at everyone with a confused expression.

"You didn't interrupt anything! I was just about to tell him." Lance piped up, placing a hand on his hip.

"Tell me what? What plans?" Keith asked.

"Well," Pidge started, hopping up to sit on the railing of the porch. "At the end of each week there's a big bonfire out at the other side of the lake."

"Wow, really? That sounds cool." Keith removed his legs from inside his hoodie, finally. He kept the blanket wrapped around himself. "Are those the plans for tonight?"

"Well yeah. But we're also gonna do something else. Something daring." Lance smirked as he spoke, leaning against the wall of the cabin.

"Just before you tell him, none of this was my idea. And I don't really condone it or anything." Hunk spoke up, looking clearly uneasy. Keith was confused, and he looked back to Lance and raised a brow.

"What are you planning, Lance?"

"Weeeell..." He closed his eyes, that smirk still remaining across those soft lips in a cocky expression. "You and I are gonna go on a bit of a stealth mission."

"A stealth... what? What do you mean?" Keith sat up a little, clearly his interest was piqued. What on earth could Lance be getting them into? He felt a little uneasy, yet at the same time excited at the look of Lance's sly grin.

"Alright. It's gonna go like this." Lance started, speaking about his scheme with confidence. "Hunk and Pidge are gonna go out to the bonfire, and keep an eye on the counselors, while you and I sneak into their cabin and steal some of their drinks."

"When you say drinks I'm guessing you don't mean their lemonade." Keith sighed. "I don't know about this, Lance."

"Oh, come on. I've wanted to do it every year but these two buzzkills wont do it with me." He motioned to Pidge and Hunk, who rolled their eyes.

"I wont do it because it's risky! I actually like coming here for the summer, and I don't want to get banned or something!" Hunk exclaimed.

"I'll do it." Keith spoke up, and everyone looked a him. "It's not a huge deal right? Just a few beers from Shiro's cooler, I'm guessing?"

"You don't think it's a bad idea?" Pidge asked him, tilting his head a little as he watched Keith. Keith just looked at Lance. He seemed so excited that Keith was willing. Hell yeah it was a bad idea, the thought of getting caught was pretty unsettling to say the least, but if this would make Lance happy, of course he was going to do it.

"See? You guys are totally boring. Keith's a cool dude, he'll have fun with me." Lance put a hand on Keith's head, ruffling up his black hair. Keith pushed away his hand, and tucked his hair behind his ear.

"Yeah, yeah. I just, uh... I want some drinks, so why not?" He lied. He's never really drank too much alcohol in his life. He's been to parties before, where he awkwardly sat in the corner and sipped some fruity coolers. He loved the taste of orange screwdriver Smirnoffs, but of course he was called gay for drinking them. Oh high school, where what you drank apparently determined your sexuality.

"Oh my god, sweet! Let's drink tonight and tell some scary stories or something. Or maybe even go skinny dipping-"

"Lance, there's no way I'm going skinny dipping." Pidge said with an eyeroll, hopping off the railing.

"Okay, okay. It was just a suggestion!"

"We all know you only want to see Keith naked." Pidge remarked with a bit of a smirk, before stepping down off the porch and into the sand. Lance and Keith's eyes both grew wide at the comment.

"You coming? They're starting the fire soon. I can see everyone gathering at the other side of the lake." He said nonchalantly, his back to everyone as if he didn't say something a little weird a second ago. He was just watching the set up going on at the other side.

"What?!" Lance finally croaked out, his face beet red. "Pidge, that's so weird! Why would you even...?" He stuttered out, and Keith found his eyes trained on Lance's cute, embarrassed and flustered expression. "Why would you even suggest something so weird! Keith's my friend, I'm not like... you know..!"

"Calm down, Lance. I was only joking." Pidge couldn't help but to giggle as he turned back around to face them, a smirk on his face. Keith just laughed softly and nervously as he stood up, his gaze trained on Lance who was recovering from his embarrassment, his arms crossed across his chest.

"I uh... I'm ready to go when you guys are." Keith spoke up, stepping in a little closer to the flustered Lance, and gently putting a hand on his shoulder. Lance flinched a little, and nodded a bit before pushing past Keith gently and heading out onto the sand.

"Let's go then! wouldn't wanna be late...!" He enthused, rather awkwardly as he started on down the path. The group followed behind. They discussed the plan the whole way to the bonfire, and boy was it making Keith a little nervous. He's never done rebel teen stuff like this before. It made him nervous, but it also fueled his excitement deep down, and having Lance there with him would make everything fun.

"Then when Pidge and Hunk are talking to Shiro, and keeping an eye out for Allura and Coran, Mullet and I will sneak into the cabin and grab some coolers. We'll be like super spies." Lance went on as they walked, using expressive hand motions as he spoke enthusiastically about the plan.

"And if one of the counselors decides to head back, super spy?" Hunk asked.

"Easy! Pidge can shoot me a text, and we'll pull out. You guys should know by now how strong my pull out game is-"

"Lance, shut your face." Pidge cut him off as they were approaching the bonfire. There were people all over the beach area, sitting around the large fire on logs, wrapped in blankets, there were people even swimming in the dark. The beat of pop music played under the sounds of lively chatter, and the crackling of the fire.

"Alright, let's go chill for a bit." Lance insisted, gently placing his palm on the small of Keith's back as he walked forward. Keith followed obediently, and he honestly wasn't minding how touchy Lance was becoming. Lance unzipped his backpack, and unrolled a big blanket in the sand. They all sat down in the warmth of the bonfire, quietly discussing more of their master plan.

"You guys seriously have to be careful... we could get in so much trouble if you get caught." Hunk shifted a little, clearly nervous about it. His eyes were trained on Shiro, Allura and Coran, who were over next to a picnic table, setting out marshmallows and hot dogs for people who wanted to cook them.

"Hunk, chill out. We totally got this under control." Lance stood up suddenly, placing a hand on his hip. "I'm ready when you are, Keith. You guys know what to do!" He started walking, and Keith scrambled to his feet to follow. He nervously glanced back at the two, then at the counselors. They were far too preoccupied with what they were doing and other campers to see the two boys slip into the woods. Once they were in the darkness of the trees and away from the fire, Lance reached into his backpack and pulled out a flashlight. He flicked it on to light the way, as the two made their way through the tall trees. This was some slender man shit, Keith thought to himself. He found himself gripping the back of Lance's sweater, and Lance looked back at him with a smile.

"You scared of the dark, Keith?" He chuckled.

"I'm not scared of the dark... This just reminds me of a horror movie." He grimaced as he nearly tripped over a tree root. Lance grabbed his wrist, and helped him balance. "Thanks..."

"No problem. Watch out for roots, okay? The Cabin's just up ahead. Wait 'till you see it, it's really nice. Well, on the outside. They don't really let anyone in." Lance continued on, Keith close behind, his fingers still gripping the fabric of his sweater.

"Probably for this exact reason if they have alcohol in there... think about it. A camp filled with teenage boys. People probably try to smuggle in their own alcohol or something." Keith murmured, his heart racing a little as his eyes were playing tricks on him. He kept seeing things in the corner of his eye. He found himself walking so close to Lance now, their shoulders were brushing against each others.

"Obviously! But I'm here to have fun, and playing by the rules doesn't qualify as fun." Lance smirked in that snarky way, as the two approached the large cabin. Lance was right, it was very big. It was like a small house rather than a cabin. It seemed a bit luxury for camping. Well, I guess if these people are running the thing, they deserve a nicer place to stay, right? And on top of that, it was for two months. Lance stepped up to the front door and pulled at it.

"Locked. Of course it is. Alright, no biggie, Keith. Follow me!" He hummed, heading over to the side of the cabin. Keith followed him, examining the side of the cabin, before spotting a way in.

"The window up there is open." Keith pointed up to the side of the building, and Lance's grin only grew. He slipped off his backpack and put it down on the pine riddled ground. He then locked his fingers together, and widened his stance, making a step for Keith in his hands so he could get boosted up to the window. Keith only stared at him in the pose for a while, before Lance spoke up.

"Come on. I'll boost you up to the window. You're skinny enough to fit though." He smirked again. Keith just sighed softly, and took a weary step near Lance.

"I don't know about this. I've never like... done this before." He mumbled, awkwardly placing his foot on Lance's open palms. He lost his balance a little, but regained it as he grabbed Lance's shoulder.

"Come on, just trust me. I'll count to three, and you jump up okay?" He sounded so reassuring. Keith felt a little more at ease now, and he just nodded quickly and readied himself. He held his breath, as Lance started to count down, bouncing a little to gain momentum with each count.

"One!" Lance pulled up with all of his might, and Keith jumped with all of his. He chewed on his lower lip as he grabbed onto the windowsill, and crawled up and over into the dark cabin. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he looked around in the dark, and only now he was realizing that Lance wouldn't be able to get in as well. He didn't realize he'd be doing this basically alone until now. Great.

"Lance, you're not able to reach the window are you?" Keith whisper-yelled out the window.

"Nope! You're gonna have to look around for the cooler. Shouldn't be too hard! Here, catch." The flashlight was suddenly thrown through the window without much warning. It bounced off the bed and crashed to the floor and went dark. Keith just growled under his breath, as Lance's backpack also flew through the window.

"Thanks for the warning... I think you broke the damn flashlight." He scoffed as he picked it up. He flicked it on and off again, and thankfully the thing flicked back on. "Never mind, it's somehow fine." he mumbled, pointing it around the dark room, and slipping the bag over his shoulder.

"Good luck! and hurry! I'll keep watch." Keith grimaced at the words. This mission was supposed to be them both, and now Keith was left to do the dirty work.

It was definitely super nice in here. It had mini rooms, and the room he was in had two single beds. Probably for Shiro and Coran, he thought to himself as he headed out into the main area. It was pretty open and cozy looking, having a few couches, a small kitchen area, and a TV. He headed over to the little kitchen, and opened up the fridge to find some fruity Smirnoff coolers. His favorite. He couldn't help but to grab 5 of them and stuff them into the backpack, before glancing around a bit. There was supposed to be a beer cooler somewhere... He just had to find it.

While Keith looked around more, Lance was outside, his phone ready for if he got a text. It was dark out here, but he kept glancing around and back down at his phone frequently, doing his best to make sure they weren't caught. He worried his lip, glancing back up to the window.

"Keith hurry up. You didn't find it yet?" He called out softly to the window. He could hear a bit of shuffling inside, and the clinking of glass bottles.

"I found the cooler, give me a sec." He called back, sifting through some beer cans. There was Sapporo, Bud Light, Coronas, and more fruity Smirnoff coolers. He honestly wasn't sure what to do, He knew it was probably a bad idea to take too much, but he wasn't sure if Lance would get mad at him for not taking enough.

"H-How much do I grab?" Keith asked, jumping at the slightest sounds outside.

"I dunno! Grab lots! but not too much, they might notice."

"Okay... Uh..." Keith stuffed some of each type of alcohol into the bag, making sure to leave a decent amount left in the cooler. Hopefully that was alright... It should be fine. Nothing to worry too much about, right? A startled gasp from Lance made him jump, and he quickly slung the bag over his shoulder and grabbed the flashlight.

"Keith, you gotta get outta there, man! Pidge says they can't find Coran!"

Shit. Keith quickly headed back to the window and climbed up onto the dresser. He threw out the flashlight, slipped the bag off as tossed it out too. Thankfully, Lance caught it.

"Fuck!" Lance whisper-yelled. "I see a flashlight coming down the path. Okay come on Keith, you gotta get out of there!"

Keith hopped up, trying his best to pull himself up and out of the window. He didn't have much upper body strength, due to his lazy tendencies. He's gone for runs here and there, but surely he wasn't strong enough to reach the window and pull himself out. Oh god, no.

"Keith come on, man! You can do it-" Lance went quiet for a moment, before whispering. "Keiiith..."

Keith used every last inch of adrenaline that was building up in his system, and pulled himself up and over the windowsill. He pulled himself through and Lance quickly and quietly helped him down. They grabbed their stuff, flicked off the flashlight, and took off into the woods with the sound of clinking bottles in their bag. Lance grabbed Keith's arm and pulled him down to the cool ground behind a tree, and they lay there in silence. Keith was panting hard from his exertion as they watched Coran open up the cabin and step in. Lance let out an excited laugh as he realized they'd gotten away with it, just in time.

"That was some close, mullet." He wrapped his arms around Keith in an excited hug after they got up again. Keith complied, feeling pretty accomplished of what he pulled off. He wrapped his arms around Lance and laughed with the boy. God this felt so good... he felt so alive for the first time in his life. This was amazing. Lance was amazing. He wanted to do more.

"You were awesome back there, Keith." Lance pulled away, giving him a playful slap on the arm. Keith just smiled and laughed again.

"You think so?"

"Hell yeah I think so!"

After a moment of catching their breath, the two headed back to the bonfire, enthusing about their successful mission. They had to wait until they were a bit deeper into the woods to flick back on the flashlight, and due to the complete blackness of the woods, it was hard to see. Keith found himself holding onto Lance's sweater again, before Lance held out his hand. Keith just stared at it.

"Take my hand, dummy. You're clumsy as hell in the dark." His voice was soft as he spoke to Keith. Keith honestly was in shock for a moment.

"Well come on. I don't bite." Lance laughed gently, and Keith stuttered embarrassingly before slowly reaching out his hand and taking Lance's. After the hand holding, the two walked back in silence. It wasn't in the slightest bit awkward though, the silence was sweet. They were both mulling over a thousand thoughts in their minds as they continued on quietly through the trees. The crickets were deafening, and it only added to the sweet atmosphere that surrounded the two. Goddammit, Keith was so gay. He squeezed Lances hand a little tighter once they saw the bonfire in the distance. He didn't really want to let go, but he knew they were going to have to. They couldn't just walk out in front of a bunch of teenage guys holding hands like this.

Lance pulled his hand away with a bit of a cough. Keith let go (as much as he didn't want to), and followed Lance back out to the blanket they had set up earlier to sit down.

"So... Did you get it?" Pidge asked, looking up from his phone.

"Hell yeah we did." Lance smirked. "What? Didja doubt my skills or something?"

" _Your_ skills?" Keith spoke up, raising a brow at him. "I went in by myself!"

"Okay, Okay. But I boosted you in and kept watch, without me you couldn't have done it."

"Yeah, yeah. You guys got it and that's all that matters." Pidge spoke over Lance, placing his phone down. "Hunk's making us all hot dogs." He waved at Hunk who was standing close to the large fire, roasting some on a long metal stick. He waved back happily with a sweet smile.

"I say we spend as much time as we can here and drink tomorrow." Lance suggested, laying back with his arms behind his head. "We can tell some scary stories in our cabin, it'll be great."

"Sounds fine to me." Keith added, leaning back a little to look up at the bright stars above. The night was gorgeous. It was a little colder than normal, but of course for California standards it was still technically warm. Plus, the bonfire did a wonderful job at warming everybody perfectly. Hunk came back with the hot dogs, and they all ate and talked for the next few hours. The night was a long one, full of music and food and stars... It was amazing. Keith was shocked that they did this every week.

Once it was about 2 am, people were starting to put out the fire and head back to their cabins. The group got up and rolled up the blanket, Lance trying to stuff it in the bag with all the alcohol. He managed somehow, and they all headed back down the moonlit path to their cabin. Keith couldn't seem to get the feeling of holding Lance's hand out of his mind... it was just so nice. He wanted to reach out and grab Lance's hand on the way back too, but he refrained. That'd just be far too weird. They could all see just fine now, and it was only originally so that Keith didn't lose his balance, right? Yeah... He knew he was looking far too into this, but He honestly couldn't help it. Holding Lance's hand like that, even if it was for about 5 minutes, he knew it was going to be the death of him for a while. It made him so flustered to think about. Goddamn, he was pure... getting all flustered and weird like this over some hand holding.

It wasn't until Keith was curled up in his bed that he managed to calm down a little over his overwhelming thoughts about Lance. Although now that he was in bed, and everyone else around him was snoring, his thoughts were taking a turn for a bit more of a lustier side. He wouldn't lie to himself and say he's never thought about... those kinds of things with Lance before. Everyone does here and there when they have a crush like this, right? It wasn't too much of a sin if he just let his slender fingers slip past the waistband of his pajama pants, was it? It's been a few days since he's pleasured himself like this, and he did have needs after all. He's been sneaky with it once in the shower a few days ago, and of course Lance and his stupid smile and his soft lips and his gorgeous body were plaguing his thoughts, taking over his mind and his senses.

With one last moment to make sure everyone was asleep, he hooked his fingers into his pajamas and wiggled his hips a little so he could slip them down a little over his hardening arousal. Chewing on his lower lip, he stroked himself tenderly, thoughts of that stupid crush beginning to flood his thoughts. He ran a thumb over the sensitive tip of his leaking member, letting out a small little 'huff' at the sensation. Keith let his head fall back into the soft pillow underneath him as he touched himself. He pictured Lance's hands on him, all over him, on his chest, his belly, his thighs, his throbbing cock. _Fuck_. This was getting too intense, Keith thought to himself, but it was quickly pushed to the back of his mind as he arched his back a little.

"Lance..." he couldn't help but to breathe out softly. He was a twitching, wet mess under his sheets, and he knew it wouldn't take long now. He reached for a tissue at the edge of his bed, worrying his lip as he continued to work himself to his limit. Almost there... almost. Lance's soft lips against his neck, teasing his nipples with his gentle hands. Gently nips at the sensitive flesh on his neck and collarbones. those sweet lips moving down to his chest, peppering soft kisses all the way down to his pronounced hip bones. Those lips on the head of his penis... _Fuuuck_. It was too much.

His body tensed as he came, and he bucked his hips up slightly as it came out in spurts. God it was so good, but only for a moment. Then the moment was gone, as Keith lay there staring at the ceiling, catching his breath. He balled up the used tissue, and threw it into the trashcan that still resided next to his bed, before tucking his spent member back into his pants and rolling onto his side. He felt a little unsatisfied now that it was over, knowing that he just had to keep on dreaming about Lance touching him in those ways. Like he ever would get that moment, he thought, letting his heavy eyes close. At least masturbating left him feeling tired after, so he didn't have to stay awake too long with the thoughts of how much he craved Lance.

Keith huffed out a sleepy sigh. He went from thinking about holding Lance's hand, to thinking about fucking his brains out. He never wanted anyone to know about this side of him, and he was going to hide it. Unless something actually did happen... no. No no no. Keith rolled over again, pulling the blankets in around himself more. He looked at Lance's sleeping, drooling face, and he couldn't help but to smile a little.

Lance was going to be the death of him, and he knew it. He was falling too fast, too hard for him, but he didn't want to stop. He couldn't stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Startin' to get steamy ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


	7. A Fresh Start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG
> 
> I've been very very busy, my kitty decided to get sick, and we have an upcoming trip to Disney in a week so we've been super stressed. The last thing I had time to do was write about my gays! ;-;
> 
> Anyways, here's the next chapter! I appreciate all you guys sticking with me :')  
> Please enjoy it!

Keith felt pretty ashamed about last night, as he sat up the next morning to the piercing sound of the alarm. He yawned, stretching his arms above his head, his baggy t-shirt exposing his belly as he did this. Lance was already sitting up, and as Keith looked over, he noticed Lance stuffing something under his pillow before giving him an awkward smile. Strange.

"Mornin' , Bedhead!" He laughed softly, as if Keith didn't even see him being so secretive. Keith just gave him a slight smile back, but looked away. He wanted to know what Lance was hiding, to shove something under his pillow so frantically as soon as Keith looked over a him. But honestly, now that his mind wasn't clouded over in sexual thoughts, he felt creepy and gross for thinking about Lance like that last night. That's all his mind could obsess over right now.

He's never really pictured an actual person he knew when getting off, it's always just been porn. Now he felt as if he were using Lance in a way, and it made him feel pretty bad. As if he was sexually assaulting him in his mind. He shuddered and closed his eyes for a moment. Keith then pushed it to the back of his mind as he kicked the blankets off of himself. He needed to think more positively about this. People do this all the time, there wasn't any harm in having such a crippling crush on the boy.

"You good, Keith...? Tired?" Lance asked, standing up with a yawn, heading over to turn off the blaring alarm. He gave Keith a bit of a look, raising a thin eyebrow and placing his hands on his hips after shutting it off.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just... yeah, tired." Keith droned, standing up off his bed and letting his bare feet touch the cool wooden floor. Once the alarm stopped, The four bunk mates could hear the patter of rain against the windows and roof of the cabin. Hunk let out an exaggerated yawn as he sat up, and rubbed at his sleepy eyes. Keith couldn't help but to eye Lance's pillow, wondering what he was hiding.

"It's raining... That's shitty." Pidge huffed tiredly, after sitting up and putting on his glasses, pushing them up the bridge of his nose with a slender middle finger.

"Nah! Look on the bright side! We can go swimming! And Keith doesn't have to worry about getting burnt this time. ...Well, just in case we'll still cover him in sunscreen but still! less of a chance~" Lance sang happily, his eyes on Keith as he spoke. Keith just looked up at him from where he was gathering his shower supplies.

"Uh... swimming, huh? In the rain?" Keith got up, setting his bag down on his bed as he raised an eyebrow at Lance. Lance just nodded quickly, heading over to his bag to pull out the two bathing suits, throwing the red one at him again. Keith caught it with a bit of a sigh, staring down at the red trunks. Swimming really wasn't in his comfort zone, especially in the rain. It always reminded him of that day, the day he lost his mother. Everything reminded him of that day. But rain? and swimming at the same time? He didn't think he could do it.

"You guys wanna go swimming in that? It's too gross out there. I kinda wanna go to the rec center and play some more Mario Kart." Pidge piped up, looking out the front window of the cabin as the rain poured down off the roof and onto the front porch, soaking into the wood. "Do you wanna join me, Hunk? These two are crazy." He looked over at the tired boy.

"Yeah, sure." He said through another yawn, getting up off his bed. "To the showers then?" He put his hands on his lower back and stretched.

"I'll go with you guys. I'm not really up for swimming..." Keith spoke softly, but audibly. Everyone looked at him, and Lance gave him a frown.

"Come on, Keith. The rec center is probably gonna be packed on a day like this! Everyone on the site is gonna be there... We wont even be able to play any games." He whined.

"Well then let's go. I wanna get a couch before it's packed." Pidge swung his bag over his shoulder, and was already anxiously at the door. "Er, how about I go now and save us a spot?" His hand was already on the doorknob, clearly wanting to get there first.

"Hang on, hang on! I'm almost ready!" Hunk piped up, zipping up his bag and meeting Pidge by the door.

"Yeah, that's cool with us..." Lance inputted, not even waiting for Keith's response. Although he seemed a bit bummed that nobody wanted to have some fun in the lake with him.

"Text us if you're not coming!" Pidge was out the door in a second, Hunk following with a small, tired sigh. Keith just watched them leave, before slowly handing the red trunks back to Lance. The door closed, leaving them in silence and the sound of rain on the roof.

"...You really don't wanna go swimming? You'd rather sit in a packed rec center and maybe get a chance to play like, half a round of Mario Kart?" He looked at Keith quizzically, taking the shorts back hesitantly. Keith just nodded quickly, his eyes not meeting Lances. He tucked his black hair behind his ear before turning around to finish getting his shower supplies together. Lance stood there and watched, trying to figure Keith out. There was something wrong with him when it came to water, and that was clear before, but now it was worrying Lance. Keith seemed genuinely uncomfortable with the idea of swimming in general. He wanted to know what was wrong, why Keith was so scared, but he didn't want to pry. He felt as if Keith and him have gotten pretty close in the time they've known each other, but he didn't want to make Keith feel as if he had to open up to him yet.

"Keith?" Lance spoke up again, placing the trunks down on his unmade bed. He sat down on the side of Keith's bed then, his eyes locked on Keith's blank expression. Keith just grasped his plastic toiletries bag, before sighing and meeting Lance's gaze.

"Did something happen involving water or like... how come you're so nervous around it, man?" Lance tried his best to make his voice soft and genuine. He wanted Keith to feel like he could confide in him, and trust him. But Keith wasn't having any of it, he just grabbed his towel, put up the hood on his hoodie, and headed to the front door without a word.

"Coming?"

"... You know you can trust me, right? You can tell me anything-"

"No, I know I can trust you, Lance. I just don't want to talk about it right now." Keith's hands were in the pocket of his hoodie, his eyes trained on the lake outside. He watched the rain make tiny ripples in the water for a while, before the unusual silence started filling him with guilt. He was doing it again. He was starting to push Lance away. He inhaled deeply through his nose, and sighed.

"It's just not an easy subject, Lance. I'm sorry..." He spoke up again, and he heard Lance get up off the bed behind him. Footsteps across the creaky wooden floor approached him, and he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Lance's touch seemed to comfort him so much.

"I wont ask then. I'll let you tell me when you're ready..." Lance spoke softly, and so genuinely. His gentle words were obviously full of concern and caring, and it made Keith feel warm and at ease. Keith finally turned to look at the boy, and nodded slowly.

"Wanna go beat me in Mario Kart again?" Lance smirked at him. Keith felt a smile tugging the corner of his lips, and he couldn't help but to chuckle.

"Yeah. I do." He turned away again with a laugh, and Lance joined in too as the two stepped out into the pouring rain together.

They ran down the long wooded path, splashing through the puddles between the rocks and gravel. Keith was unable to stifle his laughter as Lance let out an exaggerated scream as they got soaked as they ran, and soon Lances jacket was above both of their heads in an attempt to keep the two boys dry. Keith's fingers found their way intertwined yet again with Lances as they hurried down the path, and boy did it ever feel right to him. He forgot about all his stress yet again with this boy.

"Ruuuun Keith, Ruuuuun!" He yelled out, as the shower buildings came into view. The two pushed open the door and hurried inside, laughing. Their clothes and their hair dripped onto the dirty floor.

"Oh my god, I regret even leaving the cabin... You sure we even need showers anymore?" Lance joked, holding out his arms and looking down at himself.

"Haha... really though." Keith agreed as he ran his fingers through his soaked hair that was clinging to his cheeks. "I feel so gross, my clothes are soaked..."

"Lets get out of them, then." Lance said teasingly, heading over to the shower stalls. Keith just found himself following Lance, ignoring the obviously sexual comment. He entered the stall next to Lance, and undressed. The showers were quiet for a while, as he slung his drenched clothes over the door, and stepped into the shower. He turned on the warm water and let his eyes slip closed, enjoying the feeling of it against his skin. Soon, his bliss was interrupted as Lance let out a frustrated, and loud groan.

"What?" Keith spoke up, shampoo bottle in hand.

"None of the showers are working! These two wont turn on and the last one's freezing cold!" He whined, his voice echoing through the bathroom. "Lemme in there with you!"

Keith froze.

"...You're joking. Just use the cold one, Lance." He was trying to remain calm with that strange request, but he just assumed Lance wasn't being serious.

"I'm being 100 percent serious, Keith. If we don't hurry up... Pidge and Hunk can't hold that couch spot forever you know!" He was now outside the stall door, and Keith felt his face growing red. Lance was serious about getting into this tight space, completely butt naked with him.

"... Dude, I really... It's such a small space..."

"Come on, Keith! We wont look at each other or anything! That'd be gay. It's just two dudes showering to save time."

"...." Keith didn't even say anything after that for a while, gaining another 'Pleeeease' from Lance outside the door. He finally let out a sigh, stepped out from the shower and unlocked the door. He felt his heart beating in his chest... no ones ever really looked at him naked before. They were both guys right? They had the same parts, so it didn't matter, right? Lance opened up the door and immediately Keith felt embarrassed. He didn't take his eyes off Lance's, because he didn't want to see his...

"Hey!" Keith spat, noticing how Lance's eyes weren't meeting his in return. He then quickly looked up at Keith with a bit of an awkward laugh.

"Sorry, Sorry! It's hard not to look. Not because- I mean... Just checking to see who's bigger!" Lance was stumbling over his words now, obviously trying to act calm. But it was hard to act calm when they were two feet away from each other, wet and completely naked. "And it's just kind of there..!"

"...Are you serious right now? Just... shut up and shower already... This is really awkward." Keith's cheeks were so pink by now, he had to turn around. Honestly, he was trying to not cover himself, even if he wanted to so badly. It would seem weird if he did, wouldn't it? He was hoping Lance wouldn't look at his butt as he turned, but he could feel those eyes on him the moment he did. He quickly stepped back into the warm running water, and closed the curtain on Lance. Lance must have been used to being naked in front of other people or something, since he seemed so open and fine to the idea. Keith felt so embarrassed and exposed, and he wanted his usually long shower to end pretty quickly now. He quickly put some shampoo in his hair, and tried to ignore Lance as he opened the curtain and stepped in too.

"Don't be so uptight, Keith. You have a great body, so don't be self conscious or anything." Lance 'reassured' him as he started to lather up his own hair. That only made Keith even more flustered, and he chewed his lip as he let the hot water run through his soapy hair. The warm skin of Lances shoulder brushed against his upper back, and he moved forward closer to the wall, glancing back at him. Lance didn't even have his back to Keith, and he pretty much had next to no shame. Keith felt so hot, he felt as if he were going to die, right here in the camp showers. Why did he agree to this?

"You're so quiet! You're making it awkward." Lance insisted, giving him a playful poke in his side. Keith jumped and yelped softly, before giving Lance a push.

" _I'm_ making it awkward. Yeah, okay, Mr. .I can't wait till my friends done showering, so I shower with him.' " Keith scoffed, looking over his shoulder and raising a dark eyebrow at the boy behind him. Lance just gave him a bit of a smirk.

"I'm literally almost done. You just take so long in the shower, I seriously don't wanna keep Pidge and Hunk waiting long."

"You sure you didn't just want to see me naked or something?" Keith said before he realized what just came out of his mouth. He immediately pressed his lips together and continued to wash his body quietly, as Lance broke out into a laugh.

"Oh my _god_ , you caught me, Keith." He said whilst opening up the curtain and stepping out. Keith grabbed it and closed it with a bit of a huff. Keith could hear the soft rattle of a belt as Lance got dressed.

"You're so weird, Lance." Keith was smiling now, as he finished letting the soap run down his body. He waited though, until Lance said he was dressed to come out. He made sure Lance was turned around though as he slipped back into his clean dry clothes, putting his rain-soaked ones in the plastic bag.

Just as Lance opened up the stall door and stepped out, he stopped in his tracks. Keith stepped out too, and they were both met with Shiro standing at the door of the bathrooms. He just eyed the two, and Keith felt his stomach drop. Oh god, Shiro just walked in on them coming out of the same shower stall. He opened his mouth to speak quickly, but Lance was already talking.

"Shiro! I know this looks kinda weird-"

"It does look pretty weird..." Shiro gave the two an awkward smile and laugh, putting his hands up in his figurative defense. "I wont question it, but I assume it has to do how the showers are broken? Pidge let me know earlier so I though i'd come see." He continued slowly, eyeing the two. Honestly, Shiro looked as if he wasn't sure if he should be punishing this kind of behavior. He's never really thought about it or walked in on anything like this before. But he was the counselor, Keith thought. He could most definitely punish them. You can't just do stuff like this... Not like they were, but it really did look bad. Keith shifted awkwardly, but Lance was quickly speaking up again.

"Yeah, we wanted to hurry to the rec center since it's probably gonna be full today, and Keith takes suuuper long showers. So I just kinda suggested like.."

"Showering together. Platonically. We weren't like... doing anything weird." Keith added swiftly, indigo eyes flitting to Lance for a moment, then back to Shiro. The counselor just chuckled awkwardly again, seeming to want to dodge the situation entirely as he stepped closer to inspect the showers.

"Alright, so what's wrong with them?" He asked, stepping into one of the stalls and trying to turn on the shower, but to no avail. It just let out a squeak, and a few cold drips.

"The farthest two wont even turn on, and that one is freezing cold." Lance pointed to the one closest to the front door, on the end of the row next to the one him and Keith were just using. "I think it might be the pipes or something."

"Ah, great. I'll have to get a plumber in then soon." He sighed, stepping out from the stall and scratching the back of his head. Lance and Keith just looked at each other for a second, then back at Shiro.

"Soooo no showers till then?" Keith sighed.

"Wait no, seriously?! I need working showers!" Lance said, his voice a bit frantic. Keith knew with how much Lance said he liked to 'exfoliate' and care for his skin and hair, that having no showers in range was pretty bad.

"Well there is showers at the other side of the camp... but those are pretty far for where you guys are. It shouldn't take longer than a few days for these ones to be fixed guys, but I guess it depends on whatever the problem is." Shiro stated, putting a hand on his hip. Lance seemed almost panicked.

"We can clean ourselves in the lake?" Keith suggested, even if he didn't really enjoy bodies of water. He'd be fine to just bathe in the shallow part. "We can just bring our shampoo in the-"

"In the _lake_?" Lance interrupted him. He sighed and then nodded slowly. "I guess. I mean, you'd be okay with that?"

Keith nodded back at him. "Yeah, that's fine... As long as I have my certified lifeguard with me." He smiled. Lance's heart skipped a beat.

"There, no problems then." Shiro smiled. "I do kinda wanna talk to you though, Lance. Is that okay?"

"Uh...Yeah sure..." Lance responded, although he sounded a bit sheepish. Lance had a bit of a feeling it was about them emerging from the same shower stall like that, even if the showers were broken he knew it was inappropriate for a summer camp. It did look pretty bad from Shiro's perspective still, he thought.

The three of them emerged back outdoors, and Keith was happy to see the sun. The clouds were clearing up, and the downpour had become a slight drizzle. Keith watched Lance and Shiro head off towards Shiro's cabin, and Keith waved a bit at Lance who smiled back at him a bit nervously, before turning on his heels and heading towards the rec center. He stepped around deep puddles, thinking about Lance. Lance seemed to be a recurring thought ever since he's arrived here, and he was slowly starting to accept the fact that he was extremely interested in that boy.

 

\---------------- ♡ ----------------

 

"So, Lance." Shiro spoke up after the two sat across from each other on the cool leather couches. Lance gulped, feeling a little nervous about the situation. He knew him and Keith didn't do anything weird in that stall, but he also knew how bad it looked from Shiro's perspective. He didn't want to be in trouble for something like this...

"Yeah?" Lance shifted in his seat a little, fiddling with his hoodie strings.

"You and Keith...?" Shiro asked softly, placing his palms on his thighs and leaning back into the couch a little. "I mean it's okay, you don't have to be embarrassed or anything." He quickly added, as he noticed Lance seemed to be visibly uncomfortable. His intention wasn't to make Lance feel bad, it was definitely the opposite.

"What about me and Keith?" His eyes were trained on his blue converse sneakers down on the floor, avoiding Shiro's eye contact. He was feeling his insecurities eating him up again, an awful yet sadly familiar feeling when it came to discussing his sexuality. He was so tense, and beating himself up on the inside for letting himself get this worked up. He needed to take deep breaths and calm himself, Shiro wasn't a mean person. He was able to confide in Shiro last year about his bisexuality, so why was he so uncomfortable now?

"I'm just wondering if you want to talk, Lance. I know you don't have many people to talk to about this..." Shiro had such a soft, gentle tone. Almost fatherly. Lance looked up to meet his brown eyes finally, and pursed his lips a little. He needed to spill to someone, and Shiro has always been one of the most supportive people he's ever known. What would be the harm in it?

"I do kinda wanna talk about it... it's been driving me insane lately." He finally admitted, still playing with the strings of his hoodie. Shiro just smiled at him kindly, and gave him a nod as if to say 'go ahead'. And Lance did. As if he couldn't hold onto it anymore, he spilled to Shiro about his hopeless crush on that edgy mullet boy and how badly he wanted to act it. He told him about how his grandfather and his father would never accept him if he brought a boy home, and how much it conflicted and hurt him. During Lance's rant, Shiro had moved over to the other couch next to him, placing a large, comforting hand on his back as he went on and on.

"I can't do that to my grandfather... He has such high hopes for me. He cares about me so much, and he's so old, he could die any day now and..." Lance choked on his words, his eyes growing wet with tears he tried so desperately to fight back. "I can't be with another guy... It'd really... disappoint him... I can't have that be the last memory he has of me."

"Lance." Shiro nearly cooed at him his voice was so comforting. He rubbed gentle circles along Lances back and let out a soft sigh. Shiro really did feel for him.

"I know how you feel, Lance." He said softly, watching the boy intently. Lance looked up at him, before wiping away some of the tears that had collected in the corners of his blue eyes.

"What?" He asked, a bit of disbelief in his tone.

"Well, I haven't really told anyone except for Allura." He spoke a bit quieter now, his tone very slow and steady as he talked. "I'm actually pansexual."

"You are?" Lance asked, sniffling a little to clear his nose.

"Mhm." Shiro nodded. "My grandfather wasn't a very open minded man either. I was terrified at the time, just like you. I had a boyfriend, someone who I felt I was really close to... I brought him home to introduce him to my parents. At first, they didn't say too much, but after they saw how happy he made me, they approved of it." A smile crept onto Shiro's face as he spoke.

"But my grandfather... He wasn't having any of it. I made the mistake of taking him to a family get together, and my grandfather nearly made a scene. People from his generation just didn't understand... They confused different sexualities with fetishes and scandalous behavior." He continued, and Lance just listened quietly, drying his eyes. Shiro reached over to the coffee table and got a tissue to hand to him. Lance quietly thanked him and blew his nose.

"I don't want you to worry about your Grandfather or your dad, Lance." He spoke up again, his tone was laced with sincerity and truth. The tone of someone who's been there, done that. Shiro knew more than Lance thought, and he nodded as he met Shiro's eyes.

"I know... I can't focus on them so much, but I really can't bear to upset him like that..." He wiped at his runny nose again, mumbling into the tissue.

"Who knows, they might be all talk. Some people who claim to be homophobic realize how much it hurts people when someone they love turns out to be LGBT."

"I know, I know... But then there's always that what if? I don't wanna be the one to give abuelo a heart attack..."

Shiro just chuckled softly, and gave Lance a gentle pat on the back.

"You're not going to give him a heart attack, Lance. Worry about you for now, okay? If you and Keith have feelings for each other, you should explore that. Push everyone else to the back of your mind for now. This is your life, and your decisions in the end, and no one can tell you who and who you can't love, do you understand?" Shiro didn't take his eyes off Lances. He wanted to make sure Lance knew there was absolutely nothing wrong with loving another man, no matter what anyone says.

"Thank you, Shiro..." Was all Lance could muster. He found himself hugging Shiro, wrapping his arms around the slightly older male's broad torso. Shiro's eyes widened a little in surprise as he looked down at the top of Lance's head. He placed a hand on his head then, ruffling his chestnut hair.

"Don't thank me, Lance. I just want you to know you have support, okay? I never had any growing up, and it felt pretty awful." He said softly, and Lance finally let go, more tears in his eyes. Lance was more sensitive than he made himself out to be. On the inside he was just a big ball of insecurity and sexual confusion, laced with conflict.

"Just... no more, uh... Shower fun..." Shiro found himself turning a little red at even mentioning that. It was an embarrassing subject for them both, but he was the camp counselor after all, and he had to make sure people weren't doing anything inappropriate. Lance nearly choked again, before waving his hands dismissively.

"Seriously we didn't even look at each other, it wasn't like that...!" He was as red as a tomato, from a mix of his crying from earlier and the embarrassment of the situation.

"Okay, okay. I believe you! Let's never talk about this again, then. I think that'd be preferred right?" Shiro chuckled, and Lance wholeheartedly agreed.

The two talked for a while longer, before Lance dismissed himself. He thanked Shiro again, from the bottom of his heart for being there to talk to him. Shiro gave him such a kind smile as Lance left, and it made him feel a bit more confident about himself as he thought over Shiro's words. He felt as if a huge weight was lifted off his chest, and he thought to himself about Keith as he walked down the quiet path. The sun was now warming the atmosphere and drying the puddles Lance was looking forward to splashing in on his way to the rec center. The songs of the birds in the trees rang through Lance's ears as he smiled to himself.

He was going to go for Keith, starting now. It was official. His heart soared as he let his feet take him faster down the path.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a bit of a playlist for the Klance vibes ;3c Here you guys go!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5drYkLiLI8&list=PLX-UqrDETR_i3D1ig-rBHhSGyUxWMVuZg


	8. So Close

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more before I go!~

There was a spot on the couch saved for Lance when he got to the rec center, Keith made sure of it. The building was pretty crowded, filled with campers who wanted something to do indoors while it was raining. Although it was nearly even a drizzle now, people remained inside, finishing up their games and snacks while waiting for the summer heat to dry the wet grass outside.

Lance made his way politely through people, his eyes locked on Keith who was focused on the game he was playing with Pidge, Hunk, and some other campers. He just stopped for a moment by the vending machine, to get some drinks.

Honestly, he wasn't even that thirsty, it might have been a bit of an excuse to watch how adorable Keith was when he was competitive. A smile tugged at Lance's soft lips, watching Keith smile and laugh as he played.

God he was falling so hard. He's had crushes in the past, but this... this was something else. Nobody has ever caught his attention this much.

Lance was smiling to himself like an idiot as he grabbed four sodas from the machine, watching as Keith jumped up with his arms above his head, cheering. Pidge and Hunk started laughing and cheering too, Pidge jumping up to give him a double high five. Keith was so comfortable with them now, and truly coming out of that bubble he built around himself so tightly.

"You won?!" Lance headed over, asking the triumphed boy happily, his arms full of soda cans. Keith just looked over at him, a big adorable grin on his face.

"Yeah! By a hair!" He exclaimed, sitting back down and scootching over closer to Hunk, and patted the spot next to him. Lance was going to have a heart attack. Everything this guy did was adorable.

"Guess that calls for a celebratory drink huh?" Lance smiles, offering the soda to his friends.

"Thanks, Lance." Hunk said through a smile as he took one, followed by Pidge who gave him a quick thanks as well. Keith smiled as Lance sat down next to him, and handed him a can with his now free hand.

"Thanks." Keith was clearly in such a good mood today. Playing video games must have been something he seemed to enjoy, Lance thought. While Keith enjoyed it, Lance couldn't help but to let his competitive nature get to him when he played.

"You're welcome, Mario Kart champion." Lance cracked open his soda can and took a long sip, relishing in the sweet, fizzy flavor against his tongue. He honestly couldn't help it after the shower the two took together, but he couldn't seem to get the image of Keith's body out of his head. It made him feel a bit creepy, but boy was Keith ever sexy. He was unbelievably attracted to Keith now, and no matter what he did, he was always in the back of Lance's mind. His eyes flitted down to look at his thighs, chewing at his lip at how nice they were, tracing his eyes up along his torso, then up to his face.

Keith's gorgeous features made Lance want to melt right there on the old rec center couch. Those piercing eyes had the reflection of the television in them, dancing along his indigo tinted pupils. His black hair fell beautifully across his face and he knew he made fun of Keith's mullet, but oh god was it ever adorable. Lance had never seen such a beautiful boy in his life. He knew he was attracted to men as well as women, but he's never met a guy that's caught his attention quite like this.

Lance took another sip, mulling his thoughts around in his head for a while. He wanted to try and make a move on Keith, but now he wasn't too sure if Keith was into him, or even into men. Should he try and ask? No... that'd be awkward. Should he somehow try and figure out what his sexuality is? All signs pointed to gay at the moment, Lance usually credited himself for his extremely accurate 'gay-dar'. Finally, he decided he'd try and flirt with Keith more to see just how he reacted to it.

"Lance?" Keith was looking at him, that pretty voice knocking him out of his fantasies and thoughts. Lance almost jumped, and he looked over to meet those eyes he was just fawning over moments ago.

"Yeah?" He asked, lowering his soda can from his mouth and raising a brow. Now his eyes were on Keith's soft, pouty lips. God damn. That declaration he made in the woods a few minutes ago about how he was going to go for Keith was making him extra needy.

"I kinda wanna go swimming." He said softly, with a smile. Pidge and Hunk weren't listening to them, they were already playing another round with some other campers. It's as if Keith and Lance were in their own little world right there in the middle of everyone.

"You wanna go swimming?" Lance felt his heart beating. Keith knew how much Lance wanted to chill in the lake today over sitting in the rec center, and he was willing to push aside his fears and worries to accommodate him.

"Yeah. Right now. You and me." Keith said so quickly and seriously, although that gentle smile still on those lips that Lance couldn't stop eyeing. They were so close, and to make matters worse for poor poor pining Lance, Keith grasped his hand as he stood.

It's as if the two were now accustomed to holding hands like it was a totally normal thing. Lance was about to die at this rate, oh boy.

"Y-Yeah..!" He exclaimed, giving Keith's hand a squeeze and getting up off the couch with him. "You sure?"

"Yep." Keith was already dragging him back out of the rec center, before they even got to say bye to their friends. Lance gulped, his heart pounding in his chest as the two walked quickly through the squishy, wet grass, fingers intertwined tightly together. The sun was warm on Lances face, and the birds seemed to be awake and singing loudly in the trees and they made their way down the path back to the cabin.

"What's with the sudden change of heart, Keith?" Lance finally asked him, watching his expression.

"I was just... thinking about you. I like... spending time with you." Keith seemed to be speaking calmly, but he wouldn't look at Lance when he spoke. He sounded genuine, but he was too embarrassed to look at him.

"Awwww what?" Lance gushed, Keith's words bringing the biggest grin to his face. He was surprised with Keith's normal 'keep to himself' attitude that he admitted this. Keith shook his head quickly, his cheeks turning a bit pink. Lance was trying to control himself, he wanted to lock his arms around the shorter boy so badly right now.

"Don't get all mushy on me, now." Keith glanced over at him for a moment, before letting out a small laugh and turning his gaze back up ahead, where their little cabin was coming into view between the trees.

"I can't help it! That was, like..." Lance thought for a moment about his wording, before deciding to go with it. "Cute. You're really cute, Keith."

Keith was quiet as they approached the cabin and stepped up the porch. Lance could see him trying not to smile though, and that made Lance's heart want to melt. He seemed to like that little compliment, which was good.

Once they were inside, Lance lent him the red swim trunks, and Keith told him to turn around while he changed into them. Lance agreed, and turned around to change into his own bathing suit, but of course couldn't help but to glance over his shoulder.

Oh god. He turned back around quickly, eyes now glued to the lake outside the window on the front door. He had just seen Keith practically bent over, pulling up his trunks. Lance just wanted an innocent peek, but he got way more than he had asked for. His swimtrunks were starting to get a little tight around the front, and he chewed his lip, wondering how he was going to hide it from Keith until it decided to go away.

"You ready?" Lance heard Keith say from behind him, and he quickly responded.

"Yeah! I'm dressed."

"Alright. Let's go, then." Keith was already walking for the door, and Lance kept turned away from him.

"I'll be out in like, two seconds okay? Just... wanna apply some sunscreen.." Shit. That was a bad excuse, he knew Keith needed some sunscreen too. Thankfully his unwanted guest was starting to go down, but he was still a little anxious that Keith would end up seeing it. This was getting nearly uncontrollable, he thought as he picked up his shirt and held it in front of him, over his crotch.

"Can you help me apply mine?" Keith asked, his hand now on the door knob, and his eyes on Lance.

"Ah, yeah! I just have to find it, haha... I'll meet you out there!" He turned to give Keith a smile and a breathy laugh, and Keith just nodded and headed out, the squeaky door closing behind him. He listened as Keith stepped down off the porch, and let out an anxious sigh. He saw so much of Keith just now, and honestly, with the lack of time he's had to pleasure himself at the camp he's been so pent up. The smallest of things set him off lately, and he couldn't stop thinking about Keith in such a provocative way. He chewed on his lip for a moment, glancing down at himself. It wasn't very noticeable anymore, so he grabbed the sunscreen bottle out of his bag and headed out after Keith, throwing a towel over his shoulder.

The sun seemed to be getting hotter and hotter throughout the day, and Lance wanted to make sure Keith didn't get burnt that badly again. There was still a bit of peeling skin on Keith's back even now from how badly he was burnt a week ago, and he didn't want Keith going through all that again.

"So, want me to lather you up?" Lance asked him as he approached him, letting his toes sink into the warm sand at the edge of the water.

"Lather me up, huh?" Keith chuckled softly, and gave Lance a look. "Maybe if you word it less weirdly."

"Oh my god, Keith! That wasn't that weird was it?" Lance laughed, giving the shorter boy a gentle, playful push. "Let me put it on you, then."

"Still sounded kinda-"

"Shut it!" Lance interrupted him, and Keith couldn't help but to laugh. Lance found himself chasing the mullet boy into the shallow water. Keith turned around and leaned down to cup his hands in the water and splash Lance in the face. He gasped dramatically, gaining an amused sound from the darker haired teen.

"Oh, it's on, Keith." He sputtered, wiping at his eyes before gaining a yelp from Keith as he suddenly kicked up the cool water into his chest. It felt so sweet, so refreshing, so nice to be doing this together. He loved Hunk and Pidge, but getting to spend alone time with Keith was just so exciting to him. There was something about the way Keith laughed, spoke, and moved that just had Lance so blindly infatuated with him.

"Come back here! I have to put sunscreen on you!" Lance called out, running after Keith along the shallow water. He finally caught up with him, grabbing his arm gently and tackling him down into the ankle length water with a big splash. Keith let out a yelp as the two landed in the sandy water, laughing hard and taking a while to catch their breath. God what a perfect moment, Lance thought. Something out of a romance movie... or something.

Keith then sat up, shaking his head a bit to dry his wet hair. He ran a hand through the soft black locks, pushing his wet bangs off his face. Lance sat up with him, opening up the sunscreen bottle which he had been holding onto tightly during their little 'tussle'.

"Here, sit between my legs." Lance said as he squirted some of the sunscreen onto his palm. Keith obliged, moving over to sit in front of Lance with his back facing him. "It was your shoulder and back mainly last time, so let's do that first."

Keith hummed softly to himself, Lances hands massaging at his shoulders, clearly giving him pleasure. Lance bit his lower lip as he continued to gently work his hands against the soft, porcelain skin. The lake water lapped gently at their hips and legs as they sat in it, and the sound was so soft and relaxing. The silence between the two never seemed to be awkward or uncomfortable like it usually is with others. There was something warm and welcoming about the silence they shared sometimes.

Finally Keith let out a calm sigh, and spoke up.

"Do you ever get homesick here?" He asked, breaking that blissful silence.

"Yeah, I get homesick sometimes." Lance admitted, moving down to rub Keith's lower back.

"I kinda feel it now. I've felt it a lot..."

"Yeah? You miss your dad, huh."

"Yeah, I really do... He's a great guy. I've never really been away from him for this long." Keith let his head fall forward and his eyes slipped closed. His wet hair fell over his face and he sighed again. "I've been texting him a lot, but I still miss him."

"I understand, buddy." Lance smiled gently, resting his forehead between Keith's shoulders. "I miss my family too. But, are you having fun here?"

"I am. I'm having more fun than I expected, besides the sun burn and stuff. I also kinda miss my computer." He admitted with a small laugh. "Miss my PC games."

"Yeah, I do too. I don't play too much though." Lance moved his head back up, and started applying sunscreen to Keith's toned arms.

"What do you play? Do you play Overwatch?" Keith perked up a little.

"Uhhhh..." Lance began, trailing of for a moment.

"The Sims." Lance awkwardly said after a moment of silence. "Don't judge me! It's fun!"

"I"m not judging you! ... I sometimes play that too. It is fun."

This boy was perfect. Keith was literally perfect for Lance.

"Wow, okay. Cool then." Lance couldn't help but to let out a soft laugh. He squeezed some more sunscreen onto his slender fingers, and instructed Keith to face him. Keith did, turning around to face Lance, still sitting between his open legs.

"Close your eyes and hold still, 'kay?"

"'Kay."

Lance gently rubbed in some of the sunscreen across Keith's nose and cheeks, eyes locked on those gorgeous features of his. He noticed that Keith had developed a few very faint freckles across the bridge of his nose, due to the sun he's gotten over the weeks. He smiled to himself, tracing his index finger down the middle of the bridge, over his nose, and pressed onto those soft, pink lips. Keith's eyes opened, taking on a confused expression. Lance just pulled his finger away with a laugh.

"You're uh... You're just pretty. Like, you're really uh... attractive. Do you have like... a girlfriend back home?" Lance asked so suddenly, almost regrettably. This was it. This was the moment of truth. Keith shifted a little in the water where he sat, and tucked his hair behind his right ear, something Lance noticed he did a lot when he was a bit nervous. Lance was nearly crossing his fingers at this point.

"No..." Keith met his eyes. "You think I'm attractive?"

holy fuck yes, Lance thought, staring back into those deep, deep blue eyes.

"Yeah you're attractive." He said calmly, trying to stay cool. His heart felt as if it were about to leap out of his chest. Keith smiled, then.

"Thank you..." Keith was getting flushed, and he looked down, beginning to trace circles in the sand below the shallow water. "You're attractive too, Lance."

Oh my god, they were having a moment. A bonding moment. Finally, it was happening, and Lance had literally no idea how to keep it going. But boy, did he never want this moment to end. Did Keith like him back?

"I like spending time with you like this." Lance blurted out, trying his best to keep whatever this was going. He was usually so amazing at flirting and getting dates fast, but there was just something so inexplicably different about this boy. He was so mysterious, and Lance was just barely starting to get the hang of reading Keith's version of emotions. Right now, he could tell Keith was relaxed, calm, and happy. Content.

Perfect. Everything was perfect.

Lance felt his heart explode in his chest as Keith moved in closer to him. He started to get flustered himself, turning red in the cheeks as he stared into Keith's eyes with his own eyes wide and surprised. He was the one to make moves, he's ALWAYS been the one to make moves on others. Shy little Keith, making moves on him like this? Moving inches away from him like this..?

"Hah..." He reached a shaky hand up to brush some of Keith's wet hair away from where it clung to his cheeks. Keith just stared into his eyes, and Lance knew right then and there he had a chance. No straight guy would do this, right?

"What are you..." Keith trailed off.

Lance wanted to kiss him so badly.

"Ah, nothing, just..." He pulled his hand away. Where the hell was his normal, cocky, flirty personality?! Why couldn't he just use a cheesy pick up line on Keith and make a move? Why was he frozen in place like this?

"Are you okay, Lance? Is this okay..?" Keith asked, moving in even closer to Lance, who seemed to be a bit tense. Their bare chests were almost touching now, Keith sitting on his knees so, so painfully close to Lance, right between his open thighs.

Lance gulped. Keith was so close... so so close. Oh my god.

"It's fine... are you trying to... kiss me?" Lance found himself stuttering out, and immediately regretted it as Keith moved back a little.

"Uh!" Keith's cheeks were tinted red, and his eyes moved away. "I don't know... I really don't know. Did I read this wrong or..?"

"No..." Lance quickly piped up, gently moving Keith's face back to look into his eyes. Keith tensed a little, and Lance could see his chest rising and falling quickly, quite like his own was.

What now? They stared at each other, both hearts beating so loudly they could hear them. Keith's cheeks was a deep red, and so were Lance's. They both just sat there, before Keith closed his eyes. Lance inhaled deeply, taking a moment to steady himself, and moved in.

Their lips were so close, Lance would be able to feel his breath if Keith wasn't holding it. He couldn't believe this was happening.

"Oh my god."

They pulled away so fast, just then as they heard Pidge's voice. Oh no.

"Were you guys kissing?!" Hunk piped in. His voice was far from mocking though, as he stood there with his hands in front of his mouth, and an excited look on his face. Pidge started clapping then, and that's when Keith suddenly got up, as if they weren't just about to press their lips together.

"No..." Keith quickly muttered, heading out of the water and to the cabin. No, this can't be happening. They were so close, Lance frantically thought, standing up. He knew Hunk and Pidge were just coming back to the cabin and it wasn't their fault, but he felt a bit frustrated himself as he watched Keith step into the cabin. He must have been very embarrassed.

"Guys..!" Lance whined, hands on his head.

"We're so sorry, Lance...!" Hunk quickly apologized, obviously feeling awful for ruining a moment.

"We had no idea you guys would be making out when we got back..." Pidge added, a bit of an awkward tone to his voice.

"We weren't making out!" Lance inputted, heading up to the cabin after Keith.

Pidge just giggled, and looked at Hunk. Lance could have sworn he heard Pidge say something along the lines of 'you owe me $20', as he stepped into the cabin to see Kieth toweling off.

"You uh... You okay?" He asked.

Keith nodded. "Yeah, just... sorry. I'm new to this."

He was obviously embarrassed to have people interrupt what Lance thought was his first kiss. He smiled at Keith.

"It's okay. We can save it for another time, okay?"

Keith nodded again, his face burning up again. Lance felt good about himself. He was starting to realize just how much he could fluster Keith. Oh, this was good. Very dangerous, but very good. What was one man to do with all this power?

"Can you turn around again?" Keith asked, his thumbs hooking into the waistband of his trunks.

"Oh! Yeah, sure." Lance turned around to face the front door, also keeping an eye on Pidge and Hunk who seemed to be setting up the fire pit. He could hear the rustling of clothing behind him as Keith changed, and he tensed up. No looking this time, it wasn't right. Plus, he didn't want another boner right now. So, he remained facing the window, watching Hunk stack wood in the little pit they had made in the sand.

"Wanna drink tonight?" Lance asked suddenly, remembering their little raid the other night.

"Uh, sure." Keith said. "I'm dressed."

"Awesome! They're making a fire out there so we can crack open some drinks and marshmallows, what do you say?"

"Sounds great to me." Keith responded, and Lance turned to look at him. How could he get even cuter? Was it even possible? Apparently.

Keith was in a sleeveless black hoodie, and some pretty short red track shorts. Like the kind girls wear around the house. He watched as Keith put his hair up into a ponytail, before tilting his head a bit at Lance.

"What?"

"Nothing." Lance had a dumb smile on his face.

Keith looked away, but he was obviously holding back a dumb smile of his own. Was he trying to be cute now? Lance was sure of it.

Pidge and Hunk then stepped in, that damn creaky door announcing their presence. Pidge flopped onto his bed, and opened up his laptop.

"We're gonna have a fire tonight, loverboys." He said, adjusting his glasses as they reflected his computer screen. Lance choked.

"Pidge come on! I said we weren't kissing. I was putting sunscreen on Keith's nose."

"Yeaaaah, sure." Pidge smiled. Lance just huffed, and Keith seemed to ignore it all together as he also took a seat on his bed and grabbed his sketch book.

"Don't tease them, Pidge." Hunk scratched his head, before moving over to his bed.

"I'm not teasing them! I'm honestly happy. Lance needs to like, settle down. He's always throwing himself at poor Allura." Pidge scoffed.

"I am not! Allura thinks I'm charming." Lance whined, wrapping a towel around his waist to dry off his legs and his bathing suit a bit.

Pidge laughed. The sassy little shit, Lance thought.

He changed out of his bathing suit and into some comfy clothes, totally just stripping in front of everyone without a care in the world. Keith was right, he really had no shame when it came to his body, and he had absolutely no reason to have it either...

 

  
                                                                                                        ---------------- ♡ ----------------

 

  
The group of teens did their own thing for a while, Keith sketching away, Lance and Hunk playing animal crossing together, and Pidge tapping away at his laptop. Finally, the sun was starting to go down, and everyone was getting ready to go start a fire. Keith set down his sketchbook, and eyed their cooler.

"I take it were sleeping in, tomorrow?" He asked, breaking the silence.

"Psh, yeah probably. Well, depends on how much we drink I guess." Lance replied, shutting off his DS and setting it in his open bag. He hopped up, and headed over to the cooler.

"I'll grab the cooler, you guys can start the fire." He insisted, lifting the heavy cooler with a bit of a groan.

The others complied, and they all headed out into the warm night air. Tonight was so nice, the air was so warm and the stars were so bright and luminescent above them. They all sat down in the heated sand below, Keith wrapping a light blanket around himself. Lance set down the cooler with a bit of a 'huff', and plopped down pretty close to Keith.

"Here, pass me the lighter, Hunk." Pidge held out his hand, and Hunk took the lighter out of his pocket and handed it to him. Pidge started up the fire, taking a while to nurture it to it's full potential. It took a while, but after a bit of blowing on it and making sure the wood was catching in the right spots, it was a pretty healthy blaze. They all sat under the stars, letting the fire warm them even more as they sat around it, chatting.

  
Lance then opened up the cooler. Keith watched him, hugging his blanket around his body a bit tighter. He had a good feeling about tonight, but he also knew it could easily get out of hand. That kiss they almost shared today was something that happened when they were sober, and Keith got a feeling of nervousness as he thought about what could happen while they were drinking.

He took a deep breath as Lance handed him a fruity cooler. Tonight was going to be the first time Keith would drink, and he hoped to every god in existence that he could handle it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be adding underage drinking to the tags, although where I'm from in Canada the drinking age is actually 19, which most of them are~ Since this takes place in Cali, it's underage though


	9. Under the stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow I found some free time to write while I was in Florida! We've been going to Disney, went to every park and tomorrow is Animal Kingdom! 
> 
> I'm a thrill ride kind of person. I love intense rollercoasters, so I'm super excited for Universal Studios!  
> Do you guys like intense rollercoasters too? c':
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! I'll be writing more on the plane and when I get home~

So sweet.

The taste of the orange screwdriver on Keith's tongue was so sweet, so delicious, he couldn't even taste the bitterness of the alcohol hidden so perfectly inside. It tasted like carbonated orange juice, not alcohol. Keith recalled drinking this a few times in the past, being dragged to dumb parties in high school. He'd sit in the corner and have one cooler, while everyone around him was pretty much out of their mind drunk. But now it was his turn.

He wanted to see what it felt like to be tipsy. Maybe not too drunk, but tipsy. As he stared at the half empty alcohol bottle, he wondered how much tolerance he had for this kind of thing. He pressed it to his lips again and took a long swig, and Lance gave him a gentle smack on the arm.

"Cool it, Keith! Take sips, man."

He lowered his drink and looked around to see that everyone else was pretty much a quarter way through their drinks, while Keith himself was nearly done his. He was drinking a bit fast... the whole point was to enjoy himself right? He was way too new to this.

"Yeah, sorry. Just tastes good. I drink stuff pretty fast anyway..." Keith admitted, taking a shorter sip this time.

"It's okay! Remember to savor the taste. Relax, just enjoy it. It's not a race!" Lance laughed, scootching closer to Keith in the sand. Keith smiled at him pretty sweetly as their hips touched. He usually had an issue with personal space, but this was hardly a problem when it came to Lance. He loved sitting close to Lance. He just... loved touching Lance.

"Man, I hope we don't get caught. I'm not taking the blame if we do." Pidge took another sip after speaking.

"We won't get caught! The counselors cabin is waaay at the other side of the lake." Lance retorted, as if he knew for a fact that this was totally safe to do, and that there was no way they'd get caught. Keith felt a bit nervous at the feeling of being caught, knowing it'd disappoint his father. He decided he'd believe Lance, and try not to think about it too much as he took another long sip of the fruity drink.

They all talked and laughed over drinks, and the sound of the gentle waves along the shore and the crackle of the fire between them. The night was serene and calm, and as time went on Keith felt an almost familiar warmness in his belly. He was nearly done his second drink, and the others weren't scolding him anymore because they were on their third.

He sucked in a gasp as Lance suddenly pressed another cooler right against his bare thigh, straight out of the icy cooler.

"Here ya go." He laughed, smirking at Keith's cute reaction.

"Oh my god, Lance, don't." He grabbed the bottle, giving Lance a playful push.

Once the third one was open, and halfway gone, Keith was starting to become giggly. It felt unlike him... or maybe it was him? He didn't know. He'd laugh at literally everything even if it wasn't supposed to be funny. He'd laugh at Lance's laugh, and Lance would laugh at his laugh. Why didn't he do this more? This was incredible.

They were all on their backs in the sand by his fourth. He knew he could stop there, but he loved the feeling too much. How far could it go? He wasn't thinking straight, his mind was all over the place but at the same time it was at ease.

"Guys... Look! A shooting star!" Hunk pointed up to the sky above. The stars shone so brightly between the trees and Keith found himself almost cheering in excitement as the star flew across the night sky.They laughed and talked more in their drunken state, Pidge seeming to have stopped around two and a half so he was a bit less stupid.

Lance rolled onto his side facing Keith suddenly, and rested a hand on Keith's chest, gripping firmly at his hoodie. It was quiet, and Lance leaned right into Keith with a bit of a drunken moan. Keith's body tensed.

"God you're as pretty as the goddamn stars, Keith." He whispered right into Keith's ear. He shuddered lightly, moving his head to the side as Lance nuzzled his face into the crook of Keith's soft neck. OH god, oh god _oh god oh_ -

"You smell so damn good, baby..." Lance was mumbling into his neck, before nibbling gently at the sensitive flesh there. Keith felt those little red shorts growing tighter, and he just let it happen, as if Hunk and Pidge weren't right across from them. He was sleepy, and out of it, and all his mind could focus on was how much he wanted Lance, right here, right in the sand outside their cabin. He just lay there, his breaths quick and a bit shallow.

Keith was a twitching mess in his shorts, yet he lay still and patient under Lance's sweet touch, waiting to see what he'd do next. It was somehow exciting, yet slightly scary at the same time. In a good way, of course.

The alcohol on Lances breath was strong, and Keith could tell he was into the beer more than the coolers. He might have been even more drunk, who knows. It was a bad idea to be letting Lance turn him on this much, and he knew he had to stop it. But how could he stop him? His body was frozen in place, melting under this boy's gently caresses and kisses. He's wanted this for so long now, and here it was.

Lance knew exactly how to work Keith. He knew exactly where to put his hands, as they traced down Keith's torso and back up under his shirt to press against the bare skin on his toned belly. Those slender fingers moved up to his chest, tracing along each pectoral, stopping to trace teasing circles around his nipples.

Keith's breath hitched, and his back arched slightly up out of the sand underneath the two boys in complete, drunken heat.

"Guys..." Hunk's voice suddenly broke that sweet, delicious bliss. Lance looked up from where he was, buried in Keith's neck, hands on his chest underneath the hoodie. He stayed still though, and Keith just looked up from where he lay, completely in Lance's mercy, his lips parted as he panted.

"Oh my god, get a room." Pidge took notice to the two as he sat up with Hunk. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to drink, huh?"

Keith could hear Pidge and Hunk talking about them. About what they were going to do to keep them separated, and how it was for their own good for now, but he blocked it all out. None of that mattered right now, nothing mattered in the entire world other than Lance. He was too busy focusing on how his fingers were tracing their way down his chest, his belly...

oh _fuck_.

Under the waistband of the shorts. Lance was whispering into Keith's ear, gentle, sweet ramblings as his hand gently wrapped around the base of Keith's needy arousal. He twitched, his breath hitching in his throat again, mind spinning as the drunk boy moved his hand upwards and began to rub gentle circles along the sensitive tip with his thumb. Keith nearly hissed at the sensation, hips slightly thrusting instinctually up into Lance's grasp on him. There they were, under the stars, having such a perfect moment. He was out of his mind drunk, they both were.

Just then, Hunk grabbed onto Lance and picked him up over his shoulder. Keith sat up dizzily, a whine escaping his lips at the sudden lack of contact.

"Put me down, what the fuck..?" Lance mumbled out, but he was clearly way too tired to struggle.

"You might do something you regret tonight, I'm just helping you out, buddy." Hunk turned, and started towards the cabin. He was quite wobbly himself, but clearly still thinking straight enough. definitely more straight than Keith was thinking at the moment, no pun intended.

"C'mon, boner. Let's get you to bed." Pidge held out a hand to Keith, who was still in the sand. He would have normally been extremely embarrassed at this, laying here in front of people with an obvious hard-on in his shorts, but he just nodded and took Pidge's hand. Pidge stood next to him, wrapping an arm around Keith's torso in an attempt to keep the boy standing as they followed Lance and Hunk into the cabin. Although Pidge was much smaller, he managed to keep Keith standing all the way to his bed.

"Get some sleep you drunk idiots." Pidge said with a huff, helping Keith lay down in his bed. He flopped down onto his belly and just laid there, letting out a bit of a groan under his breath. The rest of the night began to get fuzzy as he drifted off in his tired, drunken state. His vision was blurry, but he could tell Hunk and Pidge were going to bed, and Lance was already snoring. He felt sick and exhausted, so he let his heavy eyelids slip closed.

The sounds around him became unreadable, and his mind started to slow, and he finally gave into the exhaustion.

 

Keith's heavy eyes fluttered open suddenly. He could hear someone outside the cabin. As he lay there awake, he could make it out to be Lance... throwing up. He sat up quickly and rubbed at his eyes, before looking over at the dim red alarm clock, squinting as the red glow hit his vision.

3:32 am

He swiftly got up out of the bed, his bare feet cold on the wooden floor below. He stumbled a bit in the dark, but regained his balance enough to make his way to the door. He had to get to Lance. When he made it out onto the porch, he could hear Lance softly crying. It only made him move quicker, even though he was still pretty drunk and out of it, he knew he had to make it to Lance. He had to.

"Lance..." He murmured, his voice dry and cracked as he stepped into the sand, eyeing the hunched over boy who was near the water. He just stood there, watching him. Lance held his stomach in one hand as he was on all fours, nearly sobbing now. Keith slowly made his way to Lance, stumbling in the cooled sand. Why was he crying? Why? What does Keith do now? He was too stupid in this state to help...

"Lance.." He spoke again, letting himself fall to his knees next to Lance. He put a shaky hand on Lances back, a worried look on his face. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not okay I'm dying..." Lance said through sobs, letting himself fall sideways onto Keith's lap. "My life's in shambles. Completely messed up. I'm gonna die."

"No..." Keith bit his lip, running his fingers gently through Lance's soft brown hair and shushing him softly. "You're not dying... I wont let you die, Lance..." He slurred a little as he spoke, still unable to think straight. He just kept stroking Lance's hair as he cried softly. He had no idea what exactly had Lance so upset, maybe just a drunk emotional episode? Who even knows. Keith wiped away his tears and continued to run his fingers through that soft messy hair.

What could he even do right now but that? He leaned forward, pressing his forehead against Lance's, tears of his own forming in the corners of his eyes. God, being drunk was so messed up. It really messed with his emotions, and he couldn't help but to cry too. Lance crying like this broke Keith's heart.

"Keith man I wanna be with you... but I can't... I'm so sick... my stomach hurts..." Lance rambled on, tears running down those tan cheeks. Keith wiped them away with his thumb, before sniffling and cupping Lance's face in his hands.

"Be with me, Lance..." He pulled the boy up into his arms, hugging him tightly. Lance's head just lolled backwards and he groaned.

"Keiiiith..."

"Lance..."

"Put me down... I can't..." He whined, too tired to move much. Keith obliged, and gently laid him back down so his head was rested on his thighs. Slender, pale fingertips were stroking through soft brown locks, and Lance's heavy eyes closed slowly. It was silent for a while, both of them sleepy and out of it, but still managing to enjoy each others company.

"Keith, I like you, like.. a lot... but..." Lance finally slurred, without opening his eyes. Even in this drunken state, where emotions ran wild and even the easiest of tasks become a challenge, Keith felt his heart begin to beat faster. He gently traced a finger down the bridge of Lance's nose, and smiled, speaking up before he could finish the sentence.

"I like you too, Lance... a lot..."

"Mmm..." Lance hummed softly, smiling as he lay there. "Good... You have a pretty mullet."

"Shut up, it's not even a mullet."

"It's definitely a mullet..."

Keith gently set Lance's head down in the sand as he moved out from under him. He lay down in the cool sand next to him, staring up at the stars between the trees above. He felt so dizzy, and the familiar feeling of nausea began to take over his senses. Sleep. He needed to sleep it off.

He moved his hand down to gently grasp Lance's hand, and moved his head over to stare at the side of Lance's face. He was already almost asleep, Keith could tell by his little twitches here and there, and how his eyes were moving under his eyelids. Keith moved in a little closer and pressed his lips gently against Lance's cheek, gaining a small, content smile from Lance in his sleepy state. Keith smiled too, before letting his exhaustion take over.

He fell asleep right there in the sand under the bright stars, fingers intertwined tightly with Lance's. It would have been perfect, if the two weren't so stupidly drunk.

 

  
\---------------- ♡ ----------------

 

They didn't speak of the night before, the next morning. It mainly consisted of groaning and reluctantly getting themselves up and into the cabin to gather their shower supplies. Which in fact, was now the lake for the time being. Remembering that he couldn't get a nice warm shower made Keith feel even more disgusting and cranky. This must be a hangover. His very first hangover.

"I'm never drinking again." Keith declared, stepping into his red swim trunks. Everyone was changing with their backs to each other, Pidge having hardly an issue, but the rest of them were pretty hungover and unsteady.

"That's what everyone says when they have a hangover. You'll do it again, we all do." Pidge replied, already halfway out the door.

"He's right." Hunk spoke over the creaking of the cabin door as it closed. "I said those exact words the last time. And the time before that... Right, Lance?"

nothing.

Keith glanced over his shoulder for a moment to see Lance pulling up his swim trunks. Did he not hear Hunk? He couldn't have not heard him, there was no way. It was quiet in the cabin, but it really wasn't like Lance to ignore his friend like this.

"Lance?" Hunk asked again, clearly just as confused as Keith.

"Yeah." Lance gave a quick, lack luster response, before heading out after Pidge. Keith turned around to see he was just gone, just like that. He hasn't been very talkative this morning when they got up, but Keith just assumed it to be Lance's hangover. Was he upset? That seemed like something Lance would do if he were upset about something. Hunk just looked over at Keith, obviously confused.

"Did I say something wrong?" He asked, his voice full of concern and worry, his face also portraying the same emotion. "Oh no..."

"I don't think so..." Keith murmured as reassuringly as he could. But he wasn't very sure himself about this. he sighed, grabbing his bag and heading towards the door. "Should we... talk to him?"

"Yeah we should. He seemed fine last night..." Hunk's voice was laced with worry for his friend.

Keith bit his lip. He just remembered how Lance was crying last night suddenly. At the time in his drunken state he assumed it to just be his drunk emotions. Maybe it was something more than that. Keith bit his lip, and headed out into the warm summer air with Hunk to see Pidge and Lance washing their hair in the lake water. Soap surrounded them in the water as they did this.

Keith set his bag down by the shore, and grabbed his shampoo out of it. He stepped into the cool water very slowly, walking out to his knees in the water. His eyes were trained on Lance, but Lance wouldn't even look at him. It wasn't as if his presence was ever eye catching, but this was off. Lance usually would always smile at him or greet him or at least shoot a glance in his direction. The far too familiar feeling of anxiety started to swell in his chest as he watched lance, waiting for Lance to look at him and give him the usual sweet, dorky smile. But no. not even a glance.

"Lance?" Keith spoke up, brows furrowed in concern.

"What?" Lance turned to look at him finally, but not in a sweet way. It was as if Keith had annoyed him by just calling his name. What's going on? He looked at Lance with a bit of a worried expression, before speaking softly.

"... Can you help me get out a bit deeper?" He was gripping the shampoo bottle so tightly he swore he was going to make it explode. Talking to Lance was usually so easy, why did it feel so tense and strange right now? What the hell was going on?

"Keith, buddy? Can you just do it yourself for now? Like why is it even a big deal? You're 19, learn to fucking swim." Lance turned away again, before going under to wash the soap out of his hair. Keith just stood there in silence. He might have been in shock.

He could feel Pidge and Hunk's eyes on him. He wanted to die. Pidge looked confused, and he raised a brow at Lance who was still under the surface. Hunk looked very concerned at whatever just happened. Keith just sat down where he was and quickly, very quickly got his hair wet and soaped up. Lance resurfaced and Keith couldn't hold his tongue.

"You're an asshole."

"Yeah? Whatever." Lance still had his back to Keith, going out of his way to avoid any eye contact with him it seemed. Keith huffed, feeling himself nearly boil with anger and confusion.

For the first time since he got here, he felt embarrassed about not being able to swim. So cripplingly embarrassed. He just washed the shampoo out of his hair as fast as he could and quickly headed back up into the cabin. He ignored Pidge and Hunk as they called out to him, he just wanted to get out of there. He wanted to be away from everyone. He got dressed as fast as he could, slipping on his black hoodie and some skinny jeans, grabbed his sketchbook and headed back out.

"Keith!" Hunk called out to him as Keith bounded over to the path. "Keith wait!"

Keith didn't wait. He kept his fast walking pace towards the path and didn't even look back. The sudden hostility Lance gave him was too much. He couldn't even think about facing him at this point. He couldn't face anyone. He thought he knew Lance at this point, but it's only been two weeks. He didn't really know Lance, and apparently he wasn't as sweet as he thought he was. He knew this was too good to be true.

He basically power walked the entire way to the rec center, not stopped for a second to look back or have a break. He sat down at a table around the back corner, realizing how much he needed to catch his breath as he sat there, staring at the blank page in his sketchbook. He breathed for a while, taking time to close his eyes and focus on breathing. Nothing else. He pushed Lance to the back of his mind, desperately trying not to think about it.

Lance knew he was uncomfortable about the water. But Lance didn't know the depth, the root of his fears. It wasn't his fault for being insensitive about it, it was Keith's. It had to be, Keith didn't tell him about his mother and the tragedy that took place when he was younger. Tears started to prick at the corner of his eyes, and he quickly used his sleeve to wipe them away.

"Hey, Keith! You missed out on breakfast!" Shiro's friendly voice broke him out of his spiraling thoughts. He looked up, swiped his sleeve over his eyes again quickly and faked a small, closed mouth smile.

"Just wasn't too hungry." He said softly, noticing Allura was also with him, her gentle hands on Shiro's arm. He felt awkward and upset, and didn't really want to be around them right now, but they came over and sat in the chairs across from him. They clearly took notice to his red, puffy eyes and the way his voice cracked as if he was holding back tears.

"You okay, Keith?" Shiro looked serious now. Allura frowned, concern across her pretty face. She tucked silver strands behind her ear and leaned forward a little.

Keith wasn't really sure what to do in this moment. He's usually dealt with his problems on his own, because he was so terrified of scaring people off. He's done it in the past many times, and he really didn't want to dump his issues on Shiro and Allura and have them start to hate him too. His mind was spinning as he sat there quietly, worrying his lip.

"You can talk to us if you have any issues." Allura said softly. Her voice was soothing and sweet, and Keith really liked the sound of her English sounding accent. He felt a bit overwhelmed though, as he looked up at them both.

"I'm okay, I just was swimming and my eyes are a bit sore..." he lied quickly, slowly closing his sketchbook. He decided to close himself off for now. He refused to depress other people with things he needed to deal with himself. He wasn't going to drag other people into it again.

"Are you sure, Keith?" Shiro spoke up again, in such a concerned way that it really did make Keith want to spill. Badly.

He was overflowing with emotions and feelings and his father wasn't around for him to talk to. He was close with Lance, Hunk, and Pidge, but he didn't want to talk to them right now. Especially Lance. The memory of the harsh voice Lance gave him just haunted him, making his chest ache. Maybe he should talk to Shiro, he and Allura seemed kind and trustworthy. He had to spill, he couldn't bottle everything up anymore. That plan never worked well, so why not spill his feelings for once?

"I..." He trailed off, his eyes trained on his book that rested in front of him on the table. Shiro and Allura remained quiet, patiently waiting for him to speak again. He inhaled.

"Lance is like one of my only friends... He just..." He was nearly shaking as he fidgeted with his hoodie strings. He really wasn't used to confiding in anyone. This was somehow really hard.

"He said something really insensitive out of nowhere, like... He was fine and then suddenly changed. I don't know what happened."

Shiro just sighed, as if he knew what Keith was talking about. As if he was familiar with this kind of situation. But what could he possibly know? His mind wandered back to when Shiro went to talk to Lance, and then he understood. Shiro must know things about Lance. Things that Keith doesn't know. Shiro must know why Lance acts this way sometimes, and now Keith was very interested in listening to what he had to say. He looked up to meet his eyes.

"Lance has a lot of family issues back at home. Did he tell you all of that?" Shiro asked.

Keith nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay. Well I'm not exactly sure why he lashed out at you. But I do know he really struggles with his identity and is constantly battling with himself. I can try and talk to him today and see if he'll tell me. Maybe you can come too and we can work things out?"

Keith shook his head quickly. "I don't care. I just don't." That was a lie.

He was hurt. He never expected Lance to lash out like that so suddenly, and right now he could care less what happened. At least, that's what he told himself. He wanted to know what was on Lance's mind, even if his emotions get the better of him and he gets angry at Lance. He never wanted to fight with him, he wanted to continue laughing and having fun, smuggling alcohol and sitting by the fire, stargazing... He wanted that back. He didn't want Lance to talk to him like that again, it hurt so badly. No one has ever hurt him like that before.

Keith knew why. It's because he had started to develop serious feelings for that boy, and that just made it hurt way more.

"Maybe you two can talk and resolve it? If that doesn't work you can come back to us, okay?" Allura gave Keith a reassuring smile. Keith just nodded again, pursing his lips.

"Alright. Well, we'll be around okay? Don't hesitate to come talk to us." Shiro smiled at him too, and they dismissed themselves and both got up and headed off. Keith watched as they left the rec center, before opening up his sketchbook back to a blank page.

He couldn't let himself feel this way about Lance if he was just going to do this again. He obviously didn't know how he felt about Keith, so Keith couldn't waste his time getting hurt from someone who kept leading him on and then getting all... weird on him.

He popped in his headphones and began to sketch, blocking out the idle rec center chatter and the sounds of the televisions around him. He started to sketch, forgetting about everything. He forgot about the camp, Pidge and Hunk, the rec center, and Shiro. But he couldn't push Lance out of his mind for more than a few seconds at a time.

God it was too late. It was way to late.

He looked down at his sketch, and a soft sigh escaped his lips. It was Lance. He drew Lance so perfectly, every detail was so spot on. It scared him how much time he took to subconsciously remember every little feature of that boy. He nearly slammed his sketchbook.

He was in way too deep. How could he stop liking Lance? This was borderline dangerous now, almost on the brink of... maybe... no.

It can't be love. He wouldn't accept it. Keith Kogane would not fall in love with someone like Lance McClain.


	10. Confiding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back from Florida!
> 
> We had such an awesome trip, and surprisingly I had enough time to write! I finished this one on the plane ride back :')  
> Get ready for some more klangst. Hope you guys enjoy!

"What the hell was that about, Lance?" Pidge was staring daggers at the back of Lance's head after watching Keith storm off down the path. "Talk to us, why are you so walled off? What even happened just now?"

Lance turned and started to head back to shore, but Hunk grabbed his arm.

"Lance!" He shouted at his friend, his voice full of worry. Why was he acting like this? What could have happened in the small span of last night to right now? Why did he lash out like that at the person he seemed to cherish?

"Let me go." He mumbled, trying to pull his arm away. But Hunk was strong. Much stronger than Lance, and he wasn't making any effort to let go.

"No. You have to tell us what's going on. I won't let you go through anything alone Lance." Hunk was dead serious as he spoke.

"I wont either." Pidge spoke up, crossing his arms over his chest. "Please, Lance. Whatever it is you can tell us, we wont judge you."

"I don't care, I just want to be left alone." He yanked away from Hunk, his voice cracking as if he were about to start crying, and Hunk let go of him. He couldn't restrain him if he really wished to be left alone. With a sigh, Hunk watched as he waded up to shore and headed back up into their small cabin.

The two worried friends sat in silence as they watched Lance disappear into the cabin.

"What the hell?" Pidge nearly whispered to himself. Hunk and Pidge looked at each other, brows furrowed.

"Maybe we should just... give him space for now." Hunk said softly, a tinge of sadness in his voice. He was always used to Lance confiding in him, no matter what. This was strange to him, Lance being so walled off and wanting to be left alone. It just wasn't normal. This must have been something bad, then.

Bad enough to make the usual, happy and self confident Lance act like this. Maybe he wasn't so self confident after all.

 

\---------------- ♡ ----------------

 

Keith tapped his pencil against his lower lip, staring down at his half finished sketch. He had been keeping himself preoccupied with drawing landscapes for the last few hours. The scenery here was truly gorgeous, and it really inspired him to draw. It took his mind off the pain he was feeling inside, it always has. No matter who or what hurt him, he could always fall back on his art to help him clear his mind and escape for a while. And that's what he did.

He wasn't exactly sure why Lance lashed out the way he did, but his anxieties forced him to believe that it was because Lance hated him. All rational thoughts inside of him told him that couldn't be true; Lance had already told him he liked him, But he couldn't shake the feeling that he did something wrong. For the past few hours while sketching he tried to remember if he had done anything to upset Lance, but he couldn't think of a single thing that would have made him act that way towards him.

He was really straining to remember everything that happened when he and Lance were drunk last night, but it was impossible. He remembered laying close to Lance under the stars after the fire was put out, and that's it. Did he say something weird or bad?

He really didn't know. He was just so confused, and not knowing just made him ten times more anxious.

"How you doing Keith?"

Keith jumped a bit, pulling out his headphones and looking up quickly to see Shiro.

"Oh, hey... I'm okay, thanks." He responded dryly, closing up his sketchbook.

"Still here, huh?" His eyebrows were furrowed into a sympathetic look as he pulled out the chair across from Keith and sat down.

"Heh... yeah." Keith nodded, kind of unsure what to say. God, Shiro was so sweet. Way too kind and thoughtful. He was obviously worried about him when he really didn't have to be.

"So I take it you haven't talked to Lance at all, huh?"

Keith shook his head. "I haven't seen him all day after he snapped at me. I kind of... don't know what to say to him." He sighed softly, resting his cheek on his hand.

"I see... Maybe you should try and speak with him tonight, if he's still like that I'll see if I can talk to him and see whats up."

"Okay... I'll try." A tinge of insecurity was lacing Keith's tone, and Shiro seemed to easily pick up on it.

"It's just really not like Lance to act that way. I worry for him. And you." Shiro sighed, running a large hand through his unique hair.

"...Do you think it has to do with his family?" Keith asked quietly, worrying his bottom lip. Shiro just pursed his lips and nodded after a while.

"I do. He was telling me things about his family... I don't know everything he's told you, Keith but he's told me they aren't very accepting. I worry that maybe something was said to him."

"You think..? Oh... I guess I kind of just assumed he like... decided he really didn't like me or something..." Keith's gaze was down at his closed sketchbook, the pencil twirling between his fingers nervously. He snapped back at Lance, calling him an asshole when he could have asked him what was wrong. He fucked up... again. It made him want to explode. He could never seem to do anything right. If Lance didn't hate him before, he definitely did now.

"That's definitely not it, Keith." Shiro's gentle voice snapped him out of his self-hating thoughts. "He doesn't hate you at all. Trust me, okay?" Shiro reached over the table, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

how dad-like could this guy get? He wasn't even much older than Keith.

"Thanks, Shiro. I should go find him, shouldn't I..?" He asked hesitantly. He didn't know what to say to Lance when he found him. He didn't know how to cheer others up or help people. He felt pretty worthless when it came to that stuff.

"You should. I think he could use your support, Keith. He really seems to like you, you know?"

"Yeah... Thanks. I'll talk to him." Keith was packing up his sketchbook now. He was anxious to see Lance now. He didn't know if it was a good or a bad anxious. What if Lance tells him to fuck off? He wouldn't know what to do.

He slung his bag over his shoulder once everything was inside, and gave Shiro a sincere thank you.

"No need to thank me." Shiro had such a kind smile on his face. He waved to Keith before he turned to leave, heading out into the warm air. The sun was making it's way down, but it was still high and bright. There was a volleyball game happening down in the sand by the lake, and a dodge ball match in he field he was walking through.

As he made his way down the path towards their little cabin, he clutched the strap of his bag nervously. He felt butterflies in his belly as he got closer, and just the thought of facing Lance again was driving him insane. Although as he arrived to the cabin, no one was outside. He at least expected to see Hunk or Pidge; maybe they were inside.

As he stepped up to the door, the anxious feeling was skyrocketing in his chest. He had to take a moment to breathe, and slow his heart rate before pulling open the creaky door.

Empty.

Where was everyone? Where was Lance?

Keith let out a shaky breath, stepping over to his bed to put his bag down. He took a moment to sit and gather his thoughts. He was eyeing Lance's bed, and just remembered the thing he was hiding under his pillow. Although he didn't think now was the best time to snoop around in Lances stuff, he got up anyway and sat on his bed.  
  
He lifted Lance's pillow to see a crumpled piece of paper. With a brow raised, he picked it up and looked at the front door quickly. He didn't see or hear anyone, so he turned his attention back to the paper. What is this? He unfolded it, and his heart dropped three hundred thousand feet in his chest. No way.

It was the nude drawing he made of Lance. Lance literally found this in the trash. His cheeks were suddenly growing so hot with embarrassment. Why the hell was he saving this under his pillow? What did he do now? If he left it that'd be really embarrassing, but if he took it it'd be even worse since he was snooping around Lance's bed.

Something suddenly vibrated by Keith's hip. He blinked, looking down to see Lance's phone sitting there on the bed next to him. Pursing his lips, Keith slowly reached down and picked it up, setting down the lewd art on the pillow. Again, he glanced at the door, before sliding his finger across the screen. It unlocked, and he was surprised Lance didn't have any sort of lock on it. Guess he has nothing to hide, so it'd be okay if he looked right?

Maybe he could figure out if he was talking to his parents last night, and that'd answer all of Keith's questions. This was a horrible invasion of privacy, but he was so anxious. He wanted to know what was going on. He noticed there were some missed messages and calls, so he navigated over to his texts.

10 missed messaged from dad.

Keith was biting on his lip now. He was honestly a bit scared to see what lied in here. With a deep breath, he tapped on the messages. Oh no.

**From Lance, 2:46 am:**  
**hEy papa? I just wanna tell you I think I like someone here. hes a boy obviously, i'm rlly scared to ask you but would it be okay if i ever brought home a boy?**

Lance obviously texted this last night when he was drunk. Keith felt his heart sink as he read his fathers reply.

**Don't bother coming home if you're like that.**

"No..." Keith found himself murmuring. His eyes scanned through the rest of the messages. He couldn't believe what he was reading.

**I can't believe this.**

**...**

**This is a joke right, Lance?**

**...**

**My son is not gay.**

**...**

**I wont let my son be gay.**

**...**

**You're going to need to move out. You're old enough anyways.**

**...**

**No son of mine is a queer.**

Keith turned off the screen and set down the phone. His heart was racing. He's never seen so much hate, especially from a father to a son. Oh god, He had to find Lance. But how? His phone was here... Why did he leave his phone here?

He stood quickly, grabbed his own phone and ran back out into the warm air. Quickly, he texted Hunk, asking him if he's seen Lance anywhere. He had to get to him, he didn't want him to be alone right now after what his own father had said to him. He must be in so much pain... It was so awful, Keith couldn't even imagine having your own parents saying those things.

He started to head towards the path, but looked down at his phone as it vibrated. Hunk texted him back.

**We saw him heading off down to the little watering hole. That's what he called it, it's like our little secret place. It's down the path behind the cabin. I think he's there right now. Is everything okay?**

He tapped in a quick reply.

**It's okay, Thanks. I just need to get to him. Keep in touch. ttyl**

Keith flicked off his phone screen and quickly slipped it into the pocket of his hoodie, before running off towards the back of the cabin. It took him a while, he couldn't seem to find the path Hunk was talking about, but finally he found a small overgrown opening in the tall grass. He pushed through and headed swiftly down the rocky path. He's never felt such a need to help someone before; such a need to make someone feel better. He wanted to take away all of Lance's pain, rub his back, wipe away all of his tears.

Lance. Keith adored everything about him, even if Lance did hate him, he owed it to him to help. He kept pushing on, jumping over roots and pushing aside the tall grass and brush that dared to get in his way. He even tripped over a branch, but quickly scrambled back to his feet without much hesitation. No matter how much he faltered, he'd get to Lance.

And he did. He finally emerged into a small clearing. There was a small river in the middle, deep enough to swim in. It was as if this place was from a fantasy movie, it was truly gorgeous. Keith stood in awe for a moment, taking in the scenery, watching the small waterfall run down the rocks above and into the river below. Finally his eyes landed on Lance who was sitting with his back to Keith, his feet in the water.

"Lance..." Keith spoke up, causing Lance to jump and turn around, obviously quite startled.

"Keith? What are you doing here..?" He asked after a moment of catching his breath, his eyes on Keith. They were red and puffy as if he were crying, and he knew Keith took notice of that because he quickly rubbed at them and turned back around.

"I just..." Keith stammered softly, his fists clenched at his sides as he struggled for words. How could he tell him he knew? He'd then know he went through his phone, and that would make him more upset. He didn't want to risk Lance's trust in him, so he held his tongue and just walked up next to him. The silence felt uninviting, which seemed out of place and unusual for the two.

Keith took a seat next to Lance, letting his own toes dip into the cool water below. His eyes were locked on his feet as he thought carefully about his words.

"What happened, Lance?" He finally decided to say, turning his gaze to look at the side of Lance's face. He just wiped at his eyes with his sleeve a bit and sniffled.

"Keith... Look, I can't tell you... It hurts me so much. I can't even talk about it. I really fucked up." Lance was clearly a mess. Keith knew why, but he had to pretend he was clueless. God, he just wanted to pull Lance into a tight hug. Why couldn't he? Why did he have to be so awkward? He just sat there, quietly and still, making that awful silence flood back in. Lance's sniffles and the sound of the small waterfall was all that was audible, Keith had to kill this silence.

"Your dad... He said something, didn't he?" Keith was trying to gently pry, trying to get Lance to open up to him. His eyes were back down to the water, but he could feel Lance's sad gaze on him.

"...Yeah." Lance finally spoke up. His voice cracked a little, and Keith knew he was fighting the tears. He wanted so badly to tell Lance he didn't need to hold back his emotions in front of him. He wanted Lance to know that crying was okay, and that he'd always be there to dry those tears.

"Lance..." Keith took in a breath, holding it as he gently rest a hand on Lance's. He was so warm, yet slightly shaky. "I... I'm here. I'll always be here, even if you don't want me to be here. I'm always here for you to fall back on. I'll always listen to you..."

Keith's heart began to beat faster as he felt Lance's head on his shoulder. He was doing it. He was really helping. He continued on, giving Lance's warm hand a squeeze.

"No matter what your parents say, I'm here. I'm sure Hunk and Pidge and Shiro and even Allura will always be here for you too. We all support you, Lance. You can be who you want to be with us... I promise I'll always care about you." Keith wasn't sure where all the courage to say this came from so suddenly, but as he looked into Lance's eyes, he wanted to say even more.

"You're so important to a lot of people. Everyone here loves you, you're so popular and funny and just... amazing. Not to mention attractive and perfect and-"

Lance's arms were around Keith. Keith immediately wrapped his arms tightly around him, burying his forehead into his warm shoulder. He could feel Lance shaking softly, obviously crying now. He hugged onto him tighter, praying to every God that those were happy tears. The silence became so nice then, and Keith let his eyes slip closed as he rubbed Lances back softly.

He did it. He was helpful for once in his life. If only he could have done this for his father. He did the best he could, but he was so young and hurting so badly as well, he never did know how to comfort people. Words seemed to go so far, but he never was good with them. As he held Lance now, in this moment, he had no idea how he knew exactly what to say.

"Keith, I seriously love you, man." Lance whispered into Keith's neck. It made his heart nearly explode out of his chest. He didn't think he could hold Lance any tighter, but he did just then.

This was perfect. So perfect.

"Everything's going to be okay, Lance. I promise." Keith said softly as Lance finally pulled away from him. "I wont let anyone hurt you."

"Heh... Where's this all coming from, Keith?" Lance sniffled, but wore that signature smirk across his adorable face. Keith felt his cheeks growing hot.

"I-I don't know. I just want you to feel okay..."

"I really appreciate it... So much. I know I have you guys. I was just so hurt, you know?" Lance dipped his hand in the water as a small frog swam by. He took a moment to try and catch it, but spoke up again after it slipped away.

"I'm really sorry I snapped at you, Keith..."

"No. I'm not mad about that. I was kinda confused at first, but I knew I needed to see if you were okay." Keith reassured him, and Lance sighed contently.

"It wasn't cool of me. I was such a huge... ball of emotions. Coming here always helped me cool down. It's so calming..."

"It's beautiful. Does anyone else know about this place?"

"Dunno, I don't think so. Hunk found this place two years ago when we were looking for dry firewood." Lance grabbed a stick and started to stir it in the rippling water.

"Huh... cool." Keith smiled. He was just happy now that Lance was happy. He wanted to continue to cheer Lance up, and he wanted to always make sure he never shed another tear. He knew he didn't really have that power, but what he did today to help Lance made him much more confident.

"I uh... I texted my dad apparently last night. I was pretty out of it. I asked him... uh..." Lance stuttered as he continued to swirl the stick around in the water, flicking up stones that rest along the riverbed. "What he'd think if I brought home a guy..." He finished.

Keith nodded, giving a soft 'mhm' sound as he watched Lance carefully, waiting for him to speak more.

"He said a lot of bad stuff." Lance was biting on his lower lip. "Like not to come home if I was gay."

Keith felt the same pain in his chest he did when he was reading those texts. It made him worry about his own father, even though he knew he'd never treat him that way. But maybe Lance thought the same thing about his own father, only to get such a response.

"I'm so sorry, Lance." Keith mumbled softly, his eyes full of sympathy as he looked at Lance. "Like I said... I'll always be here for you."

"Thank you, Keith... Really means a lot to me." Lance seemed a lot less upset now. He was obviously still sad, but Keith could tell he really did make Lance feel better, and that made Keith ecstatic.

They talked for a while under the sunset enjoying each others company, before Lances stomach interrupted them.

"We should go catch supper before it's too late. Want to?" Lance smiled at Keith, standing up and holding out a hand. Keith took it and stood with Lance.

"Yeah, I'm starving." He admitted, and the two set off down the overgrown path.

Keith knew Lance had a lot of problems with himself, and with his family. He wanted to be the person that Lance could trust more than anyone else. He wanted to be the person Lance would confide in. Was that selfish of him to wish for? Maybe, but he wasn't going to stop.

Keith wanted Lance to love him. And that was that.


	11. My Dude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I just want to apologize profusely for how long this chapter took.
> 
> I've had a hard month. I recently lost my girlfriend who I thought was my soul mate. We were together for 4 years, and best friends since elementary school. The reason it took me so long to add to this story, is because I started it for her. It was dedicated to her, and she used to read it to me every time I finished a chapter. 
> 
> I'd love to hear the excitement in her voice as she figured out what was happening next, so now that I don't have that, it's rough to find the motivation. 
> 
> The thing is, is that I adore this story. I'm very immersed in it myself, and I want to finish it. But she left me for someone else.
> 
> I'm going to make this story mine, and I wont keep dwelling on her as I write it.
> 
> Yesterday, my cat that I've had for my entire life has passed away at 18. I don't want any pity, I just want everyone who still may be here to know that I haven't given up, I've just been through a hard time lately. I'm working hard and I'm going to finish this fic.
> 
> Thank you all for reading this, and please enjoy.

The next few days were hot.

No, It wasn't just hot... It was a heat wave. Or as Lance called it, actual freaking hell.

  
The first day was unbearable, driving the boys to spend all of their time in the lake out front. It was the only way to stay cool, but they had to be diligent with remembering to cover themselves in sun screen. There was no way they were leaving that body of water today. The sun was strong and hot, and the second they stepped out of the water, they were dry and burning up again.

Keith was used to heat like this, coming from Florida. The state was constantly hot and humid. Although he was used to it, it still wasn't enjoyable in the slightest. Somehow, he's always just preferred the cold. He honestly didn't know too much about Cuba, but he was sure Lance was used to heat as well. Cuba was hot, right?

The next day was much worse than the last. They were all hardly able to sleep that night, tossing and turning in pools of their own sweat, the open windows doing nothing to kill the heat. Of course, there was no air conditioning or fans in these cabins, they were old and didn't have any sort of wiring other than lighting. Only recently, thanks to Pidge, some wall outlets were installed for laptops and phone chargers.

As soon as they opened their eyes the next morning, and peeled themselves off their sweat soaked beds, they were right in the lake again. It was keeping them cool, and that's all that mattered. Keith's usually pale shoulders were dusted with a light red hue, but Lance was very adamant with making sure Keith wore his hat, and was constantly covered in sunscreen from head to toe. There was no way he was letting Keith suffer like that again.

  
"I can't... handle this heat anymore. I'm burning up..." Lance was groaning from where he lay across his pink floatie. "Haven't felt heat like this in a while."

"Ahh, I know... It's too much." Hunk whined, gaining a pained agreement from the rest of the suffering teens. A few minutes passed by of silence, the sound of cicadas echoing through the trees and across the lake, before Lance sat up with a sudden splash.

"Popsicles. We need popsicles." He said so suddenly and so seriously, before using his hands to hastily paddle towards the shore. Keith, who was sitting in the shallow end watched him, raising a brow.

"Is there even popsicles here?" He asked softly, adjusting his baseball cap so that his tied back hair was poking out of the back of it.

"There has to be, Keith come with me. We're going on a popsicle hunt!" Lance was standing at the shore now, a determined expression on his face and his floatie tucked up under his toned arm. Keith let out an exaggerated sigh.

"I don't want to go walking around right now... it's way too hot."

"But wont it be worth it when we find popsicles, bro~?"

"You don't even know for sure if there is any, Lance. What's this sudden obsession with popsicles...?" Keith trailed off softly, as he eyed Lance curiously. Also... bro? This was sort of off, somehow. But Keith honestly wasn't sure what about it was off... It just was. The way Lance said it was almost in a mocking way.

Also, he could have sworn there was a smirk across Lance's lips. Although, this smirk was different than his usual one, almost... suggestive. Keith gulped a little and glanced over at the other two. Pidge was nearly passed out on his floatie, his phone laying on his chest. Hunk was fanning himself off with his large hands, neither of them paying attention to the two.

"Uh..." Keith turned his attention back to Lance and raised a brow at the boy's questionable actions, before Lance winked at him. Keith felt his cheeks growing hot. What the hell was he trying to do right now? Did he just wink?

"O-Okay, fine..." He stammered out, his dark eyes trained on Lance now.

"Good choice, Keith." Lance let out a mysterious chuckle, swiveling on his heels after dropping his floatie into the sand below. Keith followed him at a fast pace, glancing back at the other two who were clearly too bothered with the heat to notice they were running off.

"Lance, the hell was that?" Keith was nearly jogging to keep up with Lance as he headed off into the woods. The path was familiar to Keith, and he recognized this as the path to the secret place. His heart was racing as he followed the determined, yet lax boy down the wooded path.

"Hey, there's no popsicles down here." Keith spoke up again, gaining a small laugh from Lance. He felt his cheeks growing red. What was he planning? Why wouldn't he answer him? With a small growl, Keith grabbed Lance's shoulder and swiveled him around.

"Woah, Keith! Cool it, would you? I just said that because I wanted to hang out with you..." Lance held his arms up defensively, that smirk still plastered across that flawless, tan face.

"You want to just up and ditch them?"

"No! Don't put it like that, that sounds so mean, dude." There it was again. 'dude'. Keith wasn't sure why it bothered him, but he didn't really want to be Lance's dude. He huffed a little, tucking some of his wet hair behind his ear before pushing past Lance and continuing on down the nearly overgrown path. Lance quickly followed behind him.

"What's wrong, man? You okay?" It's as if Lance was calling him all these weird bro-dude names on purpose, with the way he somehow accentuated the 'man' part. It made him... somehow sad, yet irritated at the same time. Keith just glanced back at him for a moment, before silently continuing on. He could hear the gentle sound of the waterfall splashing into the creek ahead, and he knew they were close now. As they emerged from the brush and into that small oasis, Lance gave him a gentle smack on the back before passing him and leaping straight into the rippling water.

"Why are you calling me bro and dude and shit like that?" Keith couldn't hold it in anymore, and he spoke up as Lance surfaced. Lance just laughed, running a hand through his wet hair and slicking it back.

Fuck he was so gorgeous... Keith didn't want to be his goddamn bro. He wanted to be with this boy on so many levels. Keith wanted to kiss those soft, wet lips he couldn't take his eyes off of.

"Because you're my bro, dude!" Lance winked at him, and it made his heart leap. But again, he felt hopelessly disappointed, because he was hopelessly in love. "Come on, join me Keith!"

"Yeah, yeah..." He muttered, taking a step towards the clear water of the creek. He stopped then, dead in his tracks as something landed next to his feet. It took a second, but his heart nearly exploded in his chest when he realized they were Lance's shorts. His eyes widened and he looked back up to see Lance exploding into laughter at Keith's dumbfounded reaction. God damn it, he was such a virgin. The tiniest of things embarrassed him to no end. Plus, Lance wasn't really leaving anything to the imagination at this point.

"Uh-"

"Come on, skinny dip with me, dude~" His voice was laced with such a teasing tone, Keith was swallowing a lump down as he just stared at Lance. He ignored the 'dude' Lance had thrown in at the end, or maybe he was just too flustered now.

"What? Are you serious?" He stammered, his eyes flitting away quickly as he realized the water was far too clear to hide any of Lance's... bits. Keith was very easily flustered, and he was worried just seeing Lance like this could even turn him on. It's just a naked guy... a naked gorgeous guy.

"Yeah I'm serious. I'm naked, aren't I?" God, he was such a damn tease, Keith thought. He held his breath for a moment, regaining his thoughts in his flustered head.

"Fine." He forced out suddenly, chewing on his lower lip. "Turn around."

"Really? Do I have to? I've already seen you naked." Lance scoffed, matter of factly.

"What?"

"In the shower, Duh." Lance splashed water up at Keith, which he dodged with a bit of a hiss.

"You promised you wouldn't look, dumbass..." Keith was burning up. He wasn't sure if it was the heat wave, or his own body temperature from the embarrassment of the situation. His mind was running wild now with horrible, horrible, sexy fantasies about Lance and him naked in a spring. No, not now...

Keith was turned around now. The second he started to feel those red trunks grow ever so slightly tighter, he turned his back to Lance. How could he take them off now? He had an obvious boner, and he knew Lance was going to look at his dick the second he slid down his trunks. Lance was just like that, and apparently he already did sneak a few peeks in the shower.

Did this mean that Lance liked him like that? The fact that he wanted to skinny dip with him and see him naked totally means he's interested... right? Keith felt as if he was going to explode, all those thoughts swirling around in his head and making him even stiffer in his trunks. Now what?

"You coming? The water's so nice!" He could hear Lance splashing about behind him. He really wasn't sure what to do. He glanced down at himself to see the obvious tent in his red shorts, and began worrying his lower lip to the point where he began to taste blood. He glanced around for a moment, thinking swiftly of what sort of excuse to make up. He needed to go deal with himself, or wait it out.

"Just a second, I need to go piss." Keith spoke quickly, and ran off back down the wooded path. He could hear Lance objecting behind him, but he didn't bother to stop or turn around. He needed to get away and deal with this quickly. He couldn't stop being frustrated with himself; he was such a virgin. Just seeing the boy naked was enough to drive him insane like this.

Keith found a large tree, and moved in behind it, pressing his back against the cool wood. He took a moment to breathe, his face flushed a deep red as he stared down at himself, wondering what he should do now. It might be easier to just wait it out, think of gross things, but at the same time he wanted to pleasure himself. He wanted to feel good. It has been a while since he's last pleasured himself.

Chewing on his lip again, he adjusted his ball cap and closed his eyes, letting out a long sigh through his nose. He can't just do this here, but god he wanted to. He needed to... Fucking Lance. Fuck him for making him so goddamn horny. Fuck Lance for being so perfect and hot and sexy.

Keith traced a shaky hand down his abdomen, using his middle and pointer finger to stretch open his shorts. He watched himself, his needy arousal twitching slightly in it's cloth confinement. He couldn't handle this anymore, waiting for something this bad to go away on it's own just wont do, he'd be here for a long time. He nervously glanced around, holding his breath and listening very carefully to his surroundings. He could still hear the faint sound of the waterfall from the secret oasis, but he knew he was hidden enough from the path that Lance couldn't find him if he went looking.

Keith groaned a little, unable to contain himself for much longer. He needed relief more than anything. Being a 19 year old virgin was really rough at this point.

He let himself slide down the length of the tree until he was sitting on the ground. He shimmied down his shorts slightly, letting his needy erection spring free from the trunks. Keith didn't waste any time, he wrapped a shaky hand around the length of his hot shaft, and began to pump up and down, watching with lust as his foreskin slipped up and over the tip of his cock and back down.

" _Ffffuck_..." He whispered, unable to hold in his desperate panting as he slipped his shorts down more in order to spread his smooth thighs. He picked up the pace, tilting his head back to rest against the bark of the tree as his mouth fell open, needy, quiet moans slipping free. His mind was running wild with thoughts of Lance.

Thoughts of his soft lips against the tip. His warm chest against his own. Even thoughts of pushing inside of Lance's tight, warm entrance. It was almost too much already, he was already so close. With a few last pumps, he whimpered out Lance's name, and came hard. His body shook and trembled as his hot cum spurted into the grass below him, his breathing fast and erratic.

He lay there, his back still propped up against the tree as he took a few moments to breathe, wiping his hands on his swim trunks. With tired eyes, he watched himself grow soft again slowly. He could probably manage to skinny dip with Lance now, at least for a bit. He was satisfied at the moment, but he wasn't sure how long it would take until that boy would drive him crazy like this again.

Keith slipped his shorts back up and lazily stood, letting out a soft sigh before heading back to the springs.

 

 

  
"So," Hunk spoke up over the loud squeaking of his floatie as he climbed onto it. "Lance and Keith are totally into each other, aren't they?"

"Duh. Lance just used the Popsicle excuse to steal Keith away." Pidge leaned back a little on the floatie, letting his hair get wet in the cool lake water.

"So you think they like... ran off together?" Hunk sat up a little, a bit of a worried expression on his usually sweet face. He sighed for a moment, dipping his hand in the water and swishing it around, before speaking again.

"Are we not fun anymore?"

"That's not it." Pidge responded quickly. "Don't get all offended or anything. They're just in love or something like that." Pidge could tell Hunk seemed a little hurt that Lance seemed to always want to run off with Keith. It was silent for a moment, the sounds of the gentle waves lapping at the shore.

"Yeah... Okay. I just don't see Lance much anymore after Keith showed up. Not that I don't like Keith! Keith is nice and all, but I sort of feel like Lance is just too busy for us now..."

"Just let him have his fun, he still cares about us. When people get crushes and stuff, they focus a lot on that person. It's just the way it is. Just give him some time to sort out his feelings for Keith." Pidge paddled over to Hunk and gave him a pat on the back.

"Alright." Hunk sighed. "You're right. As always." It was quiet for a moment, before Pidge spoke up again.

"How about you and I actually go looking for some Popsicles?"

A sweet, familiar smile grew across the large boys lips.  
"Yes, please!"

 

 

"Why are you so awkward?" Lance was laughing now, watching as Keith slowly stepped into the springs backwards.

"Because I really don't want you to stare at my dick, okay?" Keith shot him a glare, and Lance just laughed again, harder this time. If Lance and his stupid laugh weren't so dam cute, Keith would have been way more pissed.

"Okay I'll turn around, jeez! Just get in!" Lance turned his back, unable to stifle his laughter.

Keith, using his hand to cover himself, stepped all the way into the water finally. It was clear and only went up to the bottom of his ribs, so it obviously didn't hide much. He could see Lance's perfect ass so clearly. He looked away quickly as Lance turned around to face him again, and out of instinct he covered himself.

"So... why exactly are we skinny dipping?" Keith mumbled, his eyes trained on Lance's face.

"Because, my dude! It's fun, isn't it? Don't you feel..." He stepped over, closer to Keith now, leaning in close. "...Free?"

Keith moved back a little, his cheeks obviously flushed, as he stammered.

"F-Free? Um..."

"Yeah..." Lance was nearly whispering in his ear now. "... _Dude_."

Keith bit down on his lip. That's it. He shoved Lance back a bit, his eyes narrowed.

"The hell is all this dude stuff? Seriously. Where the fuck did it come from?"

Lance's eyes widened a little in surprise, catching himself as he was shoved. Keith looked very frustrated. A sly smile then crept along Lance's lips. His plan was working.

"What? You don't want to be my dude? My bro?"

"Uh, no? Why would I-" Keith trailed off. His eyes quickly went from frustration, to a bit of a confused expression as he stared at Lance.

"Hmm? Is there something else you want to be, Keith?" Lance tilted his head, playing innocent now. Keith was catching on at this point, and was obviously flustered as he looked away.

Lance let out his cute, signature laugh, stepping in close again. Too close. Their chests were practically toughing now, but Keith couldn't back up any more, there was a rock wall behind him now. Lance gently removed Keith's ball cap, and tossed it to the grassy shore, before leaning in and practically fucking _whispering into Keith's ear_.

"What do you want to be, Keith...?"

Keith couldn't take it anymore. His breath hitched nervously in his throat as he turned his gaze back to Lance's. Lance was so serious now, definitely more serious than Keith has ever seen his expression before. He was nearly trembling now as he looked up into the taller boy's gorgeous blue eyes, before mumbling finally.

"I don't know..."

"What? You don't know?"

"... I don't know, Lance..."

"Tell me..."

"N-No. You tell me."

Lance was quiet for a while, the sound of the waterfall crashing into the springs was deafening as the two stood there quietly. Finally, Lance mustered up the nerve to speak.

"W-Would you kiss me?" He stammered out. Keith could tell how hard Lance was trying to sound cool and collected, and smooth. But he knew Lance was obviously freaking out on the inside just as much as Keith was. He honestly didn't know what to do. Kissing Lance... He's wanted to for so long. What was holding him back then?

"I..." He mumbled, his face beat red and his heart threatening to leap out of his chest. He then in that moment, decided that nothing would hold him back. He's wanted to kiss Lance for so long now, and he was going to do it. "Y-Yeah. I'll kiss you."

"Really?" Lance had to calm down, he seemed so thrilled at that moment that Keith said yes. Keith just nodded quickly, awkwardly meeting Lance's excited gaze, with his own unbelievably shy one. He could hear Lance's heart too, even over the waterfall and his own deafening heart beat.

Finally, after what seemed like minutes, Lance began to lean in. Keith felt as if he were going to have a heart attack right there, as Lance got closer and closer. He could feel Lances warm breath against his parted lips now, and he let his eyes slip closed. Why was he so nervous? He's been kissed in the past, but it was all by girls he was never interested in, nor cared about as deeply as he did for this boy. He didn't think kissing could feel this riveting, and exciting.

Finally, Lance's soft lips were pressed gently against his own, and Keith's body stiffened up immensely. He honestly wasn't sure what to do from here, so he decided he'd let Lance take over.

And that didn't take long. Lance was moving his lips gently against Keith's, and Keith followed. It felt so natural, so painfully good. Lance's scent was invigorating, and the taste of his lips were so sweet. Keith took everything in in this moment, and as Lance's hands made their way to grasp as Keith's hips, he was melting. His body was becoming putty in Lance's warm hands.

He could feel himself becoming aroused again, and fast. But he didn't want to stop; Besides, Lance was bound to get a hard-on of his own soon if the two kept this up. He didn't need to feel embarrassed now, because as Lance pressed his hips against Keith's, he was obviously extremely aroused.

Keith pulled away for a moment to gasp, panting hard as their lips parted, leaving a small string of mixed saliva between the two. Lance's eyes were lidded, lusty, yet slightly nervous as he stared into Keith's. His grip on Keith became more rough as he pulled the smaller boys hips closer.

"Breathe, Keith..." Lance mumbled gently, his thumb gently pressed against Keith's bottom lip. He then moved in to capture Keith's lips against his own again. This time, he slipped his tongue into Keith's mouth, gently lapping at the other's warm tongue. Soon, Keith's back was against the rock wall behind him, smooth, strong thighs wrapped tightly around Lance's slender waist.

This was getting dangerous. This was happening so fast. They need to calm down and think before they rushed into things like this, but how could they now?

"Lance... _God_ I want to fuck you..." Keith was blind with arousal now, anything could slip from his mouth. Lance nearly moaned at just the words, his hands grasping at Keith's soft ass.

"Fuck, Keith..."

They continued their heated, sloppy makeout session for what seemed like forever, before Keith pulled away, catching his breath.

"Can we...?" His eyes were needy as he looked deeply into Lance's, nearly begging him now. Lance stiffened up a bit, before slowly letting Keith down and stepping back a little, his cheeks red and chest heaving a little with his heated breathing. It was all so sudden, Keith was left standing there in the shallow water, his legs shaky and his body trembling profusely.

"We need to wait, Keith..." Lance ran a hand through his wet hair, leaning against the rocks a bit. Keith could see, he was still very aroused, and he wanted it in his mouth. He wanted to touch him...

He moved in to press his chest against Lance's, but Lance put his hands on Keith's shoulders and very gently pushed him back, keeping him at arm length.

"Look, Keith... I really like you. Trust me..." He smirked a little at the last part, glancing down at his own erection for a moment. "I want to take things slow with you okay? I just... I really want things to work. I think you're amazing, Keith."

Keith was at loss for words as he watched Lance's face. His lips were still parted as he panted gently, trying his best to recover from the heated situation the two boys were just engaged in. He slowly nodded then, moving so that he could lean with Lance, their shoulders touching.

"You want to take things slow with me..?" Keith felt his heart racing. Lance genuinely wanted to make things work with him. As in an actual, serious relationship.

"Yeah, I really do... I've just..." He trailed off for a moment. "I've had a lot of relationships where we just fuck and then get tired of each other. I want something deeper with you, Keith... I'm really into you."

Keith lit up. He's never felt so wanted and loved and special... it was too good to be true. It had to be.

"I... I really like you Lance. You're special to me, and it's only been like... two weeks."

"I know. You're different then everyone else. There's something about you." Lance's hand moved under the water, gently grasping Keith's. His heart leaped as Lance's fingers entwined with his own.

"I think I... I want to try dating you, Keith."

"I'd love that."


End file.
